Somewhere in Time
by Stelra Etnae
Summary: Teddy Lupin and Lily Luna Potter travel back in time to 1977 due to a broken timeturner. Is this a blessing or a curse? How are they going to get back before they mess up the timeline? Or perhaps the real question is, will Teddy want to leave? Teddy is 17, Lily is 7. Marauders era. Some JP/LE, one-sided SS/LE, and RL/NT. OoTP in later chapters. Time travel.
1. Of Teddy and Time Turners

_**There are quite a few time travel stories out there, but not quite enough of Teddy, in my opinion. So I decided to write one of my own! I hope you enjoy it!**_

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><p>"Teddy, have you packed everything you need? Did you remember to bring a warm coat? All your books? Robes in your bag? Cauldron…" A pretty red-haired woman was fussing over a young man with bright turquoise hair.<p>

Teddy laughed and put up his hands in surrender. "Ginny, I'm not a first-year. I know perfectly well what I need to bring to Hogwarts. Come on, Granma nags less than you," he said, indicating Andromeda who was standing at the side wearing an amused smile.

Ginny put her hands on her hips and mock-glared at him. "You always forget to bring something or another every year, so how can you expect me not to nag? I suppose we'll just have to send you whatever you missed out later, just like we have done for the past six years. I expect to return home and see a cauldron sitting on your bed."

Teddy had spent the last week of summer at Grimmauld Place. The Potter household had practically become Teddy's second home. When he was not at his grandmother Andromeda's home, he was there. The Potters would come to send him off to school every year.

"Or else it will be something tiny that we won't find for weeks," continued Andromeda. "Do you have your Head Boy's badge, Teddy?" There was pride in her voice. Teddy had grown up to be a fine responsible young man like his father, with his mother's kind-heartedness and friendly nature.

"Of course I do. I'm not _that_ scatter-brained," protested Teddy. Six pairs of eyes looked skeptically at him. Lily giggled. Teddy rolled his eyes. "It's in my bag with my school robes. I just checked this morning."

"That aside, it may be a trifle inconvenient for us to post your stuff to you this year, Teddy." Harry added from Ginny's side, where he was adjusting seven-year-old Lily's coat.

Ginny tensed. She whispered frantically to Harry. "Are you sure that this is a good idea? There are any number of things that may go wrong..."

"It'll be fine, Ginny. Trust me."

Andromeda looked confused for a moment but realization soon dawned. "So, the time has come."

"Wha…?" Teddy's curious enquiry was drowned by the sound of the train whistle. The Hogwarts Express was setting off soon.

"You better be on your way, then!" Harry said cheerfully, "Children, say goodbye to Teddy."

Teddy tousled the James and Albus' hair playfully and then squatted down to receive little Lily's tearful hug. He shot a look at the adults, an eyebrow raised at their unusual behavior. Harry and Ginny looked back at him innocently. Andromeda just smiled.

Lily's attention had been drawn to something shiny in Teddy's coat pocket. Curiously, she put a small hand inside and drew out a delicate gold chain. A tiny hourglass hung from it, the sand within the glass sparkling with magical light.

Teddy noticed and reached for it, alarmed. "Lily, don't touch that…"

Lily jumped guiltily at Teddy's exclamation and accidentally let go of the necklace. The time turner hit the floor with a clang and shattered. Magical sand swirled around them.

Lily buried her face in the front of Teddy's coat and the boy put his arms protectively around her. A moment before his vision was blocked, he glanced frantically at his adopted family. He met his godfather's eyes and saw trust, understanding and a little bit of sadness. Teddy couldn't understand it.

They vanished. There wasn't even a speck of sand left on the platform to show that the two children had been there.

Ginny looked at Harry with some worry as the boys' gaped. "I hope that you know what you're doing."

"They'll be fine," Harry answered confidently. "We saw proof of it ourselves many years ago, didn't we? Teddy will take good care of Lily. They'll be back before we know it."

"I just can't help but worry a little, though. Lily is only six, after all." Ginny sighed and then smiled. "But like you said, it was meant to be. I'm glad that Teddy is going to get this chance."

"I met Teddy too, many, many years in the past," Andromeda said. Harry and Ginny looked at her in surprise. They had not known that. "I didn't really understand the emotions I saw in his eyes then. But now I know that he was happy. Happy and rather sad too." Then she looked at them curiously. "But how do you remember? I'm quite sure that all of your memories concerning this event were wiped."

Harry grinned and drew out a slip of paper from his coat pocket. "We found this in Grimmauld Place, covered in wards and concealing charms that were set to break at a fixed time." He handed it to Andromeda. She started reading it aloud.

"Dear Me," Andromeda raised an eyebrow at that. "I'm sure that you have no recollection of a particular event that happened in 1995, involving a young Metamorphagus and little red-haired girl who called you Daddy. I personally made sure of that myself. However, I find it necessary to return your memories to you at this current date. You see, on 1 September 2014, Teddy Lupin and Lily Luna Potter will travel through time to the past. You can't do anything to change it, so I advise you to make preparations instead. May I suggest to pack some spare luggage for the two? I'm sure that they'll appreciate it. Don't worry, Lily is in good hands. Teddy is a responsible boy, as you must know. You'll have to fetch them back yourself, though. Sincerely yours, Harry James Potter."

Andromeda glanced up at Harry. "I'm surprised that you believe this. What if it is a trap?"

Harry smiled. "Of course, I had it screened by the Ministry. This letter has gone through Auror Office, Handwriting Verification and Dark Artifacts. The result was completely clean. It isn't even a borderline case. They even told me that the wards protecting the letter has my wand signature all over it. Also, the moment I finished reading, all the memories from that time came back." He tapped his temple. "I was rather worried about a strong Confundus charm but all tests came out clean."

They walked off Platform 9 and ¾, being bombarded by questions from James and Albus. Harry flipped open his cellphone and dialed a number.

"Hermione? Yes, they've gone. Do you have the new timeturner ready? Thanks, you're a great help. I'll be over to pick it up soon."

"Dad, where are Teddy and Lily?" Albus asked, finally getting his father's attention.

Harry grinned down at the boy. "Somewhere in time."

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><p><strong><em>Review please!<em>**


	2. Meeting the Marauders

_**And we have chapter 2! Enjoy!**_

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><p>There was wind, and sand swirled around them endlessly. Once in a while, Teddy could hear snatches of muted conversation on the wind, gone before he could make sense of anything. It was eerie.<p>

Suddenly, they landed on solid ground. The noise level returned to a normal state. Looking up, he saw that he was on Platform 9 and ¾, with the Hogwarts Express still in the station. No one seemed to have noticed that strange experience. More alarming was the fact that Harry, Ginny, James and Albus were nowhere to be seen. In fact, he couldn't recognize a single soul.

"Teddy?" Lily tugged on his sleeve, looking at him in innocent curiosity.

"It's alright, Lily. We'll get back home," Teddy told her in a reassuring tone. However, he wasn't entirely sure how they were going to manage that. Where _were_ they, anyway?

"Is anything the matter?" a concerned feminine voice asked from behind him.

Teddy glanced over his shoulder to see a girl about his age. Her hair was long and shone a beautiful shade of auburn. She had an air of confidence and maturity, together with a sense of responsibility. But her most striking feature, that made Teddy's heart drop to the pit of his stomach, was her beautiful almond-shaped green eyes. Eyes that he had seen on Harry's face. Teddy knew without a doubt that somehow, he had just met Lily Evans.

Well, at least he knew where they were now, or to be more precise, when. Unfortunately, the knowledge didn't make him feel any better. How were they going to get back?

Dazed, he stood up, little Lily's hand clasped tightly in his. He made himself smile. "Not really. You see, I'm a transfer student this year. Ted Harrison, nice to meet you," he offered his free hand and Lily Evans shook it warmly. "I'm afraid there are some complications. Hopefully it will be solved after I see the Headmaster."

"I'm sure that Professor Dumbledore will have a solution to whatever the problem is. Meanwhile, why don't you get on the train? The Hogwarts Express is the best way to reach Hogwarts, unless you want to apparate or go by the Floo. I can be your guide if you would like to do so."

Teddy shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll just take the train."

Little Lily turned back to smile up at her namesake as she followed Teddy down the platform. "Bye bye!" she said, waving her hand cutely.

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><p>"Evans!" An all-too-familiar-and-annoying voice called her from behind and an arm was draped over her shoulders.<p>

"Take your hands off me, Potter, before I hex you," Lily said in even tones but drew out her wand to show that she meant it. It was good to be of age.

James put his hands up in surrender. "I just wondered who the new boy is. No one told me that there is going to be a new student this year. He looks like a seventh-year."

Lily looked at Teddy's retreating back. "I wasn't told either. He says his name is Ted Harrison. Apparently, he has something he needs to talk to the Headmaster about." She glanced at James shrewdly. "Why would you be told, anyway?"

A voice cut in. "You are currently looking, my dear Evans, at our current Head Boy." Sirius gestured towards James with a flourish.

"Head Boy? Him?" Lily looked skeptically at James.

"I'm completely serious. After all, it's my name," Sirius couldn't help but say cheekily.

"Come on, Padfoot, the joke is way too old by now," Remus said as he reached them, rolling his eyes.

"But I _am_ Sirius!" he wailed.

Remus snorted.

Sirius rounded upon the newest arrival. "Peter! Tell them that I'm right!"

"You really have to admit that it is getting old, Sirius," Peter said with a grin.

"Even Peter! You have been corrupting him behind my back, Moony! I am greatly grieved." Sirius proceeded to sulk.

James prodded him with an elbow. "Get over it, Padfoot."

The Marauders launched into their usual teasing banter, with Lily watching them in amusement.

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><p>"Evans!" At the call, the skin on the back of Teddy's neck prickled. The voice held enough resemblance to his godfather's to startle him. But there were differences too, for James' voice was not only clearly younger, but also more carefree and mischievous.<p>

Little Lily turned. "Daddy?" she wondered doubtfully.

"That's not your Daddy, Lily," Teddy told her. "Come on, let's get on the train."

Lily followed him obediently but glanced back curiously once in a while. It took all of Teddy's willpower not to look back. He knew what he would find if he did and didn't trust himself to hold it in. Having a scene in the middle of the crowded station was the last thing he needed.

"Teddy? My hand hurts…"

Teddy hurriedly loosened his hold on Lily's hand. "Sorry, I was thinking."

Lily was concerned. "Why is Teddy sad?"

Teddy sighed and crouched down next to Lily, putting him on the same eyelevel as her. "I'm not sad. It's just that I never expected something like this to happen." He glanced around to make sure no one would overhear them. "Lily, if anyone asks, you must tell them that your name is Lily Harrison and I'm your brother Teddy Harrison. Think of it as a game. We're spies, so we are pretending to be other people."

"Okay!" said Lily, happy at the prospect of a game.

"You must remember, Lily. Promise?" Teddy extended his little finger and Lily hooked hers over his. They shook solemnly.

"Pinky promise!" Lily agreed.

It was at that moment that Teddy chanced to look over that where they had left Lily Evans. His eyes widened and he greedily took in the sight of his father joking with a young man he knew to be Sirius Black. James Potter and Peter Pettigrew laughed and Lily Evans smiled.

"Teddy?"

He looked back at the little girl and was surprised to find that his eyes were wet. He discreetly dried his tears as he stood up. "I'm alright, Lily. Let's go."

They boarded the Hogwarts Express, where they found an empty compartment and settled down for the long trip. It seemed that it would quite a while before they would get back.

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><p>Teddy sat down with Lily beside him, pondering their situation. They were currently stranded in the past with no plausible way to get back. As far as he knew, time turners hadn't even been invented yet in this time. He hoped that Professor Dumbledore was as resourceful and omniscient as history depicted him to be.<p>

The door to the compartment slid open and three boys trudged in. They stopped short in surprise when they noticed Teddy and Lily.

"Hello," Teddy said rather self-consciously as they gaped at him. He wondered if he looked peculiar and decided that his turquoise-colored hair _was_ somewhat extraordinary. He turned it black. Unfortunately, that just made them stare more.

"It's not nice to stare," Lily admonished from Teddy's side, sounding a lot like Ginny Potter.

The sandy-haired boy recovered first. He smiled at little Lily. "I'm sorry." He turned to Teddy. "Remus Lupin. You must be a new student."

Teddy stood to shake the hand offered to him. "Ted Harrison. Just call me Teddy."

"Do excuse my friends, they are rather shocked. Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black," Remus introduced, indicating each of them.

"You're a Metamorphmagus!" Peter managed.

"Yeah…" Teddy blushed and his hair turned a shade of red not unlike the Weasleys'.

"You're embarrassing him," Remus said, ushering his friends onto the seats.

Sirius plopped down on Teddy's other side. "Sorry, I'm not sure why I was so surprised. It's not the first time I've seen a Metamorphmagus, since my cousin's kid is one. Never expected to meet another, though." He grinned and extended a hand. "Sirius Black."

Nearby, Remus had engaged Lily in conversation. "Hi, what's your name?"

"Lily," she said shyly.

Remus produced a small bar of chocolate from his pocket and gave it to her. "We know a Lily too. You met her just now, right?"

Lily nodded as she took the treat. "She was very nice." She glanced up at him. "You're very nice too."

Remus chuckled. "I'm glad you think so."

Even though none of them mentioned anything, Teddy knew that they were burning with curiosity about why Lily was on the train with him.

"Lily was supposed to go stay with an aunt but she recently broke her leg. It would be too hard on her if she had to take care of Lily as well, so I hope that Professor Dumbledore can arrange for Lily to stay at Hogwarts for the time being. We have no other relatives, you see. Our parents died last year and your aunt is our guardian," Teddy said, hurriedly coming up with a cover story for their presence. He didn't need to fake tears as he looked Remus.

The boys didn't know what to say. They couldn't truly understand what losing one's parents would be like.

"I'll bring you up to the Headmaster's office when we reach Hogwarts, if you like," Remus offered.

Teddy naturally knew the way up to the Head's office. But a new student wouldn't and to go up by himself would look suspicious. "Thanks," he said gratefully. "That would be great."

The door slid open again and a messy black head popped in.

"Ah, the new student is here. Harrison, is it? How do you do, my name is James Potter."

Teddy shook hands with his godfather's father. "Call me Teddy."

"I'm James, then." The Head Boy fixed his gaze on his friends. "Don't scare him off, now," he said with a grin.

"As if we would! What have you been up to, Prongs? Enjoying your time with Evans?" Sirius teased.

"I heard that!" a voice said crossly from the corridor.

"Oops."

"Thanks, mate," said James with an eye-roll. "I'll be going then. Don't want Lily-flower to think that I'm slacking."

"Potter!"

"Coming, my dearest Evans!" The door closed.

"The girl has him wrapped around her little finger," said Sirius mournfully.

"You act as though it is something new, Padfoot," Remus said in an amused tone.

Sirius snorted as he accepted the truth of that statement. "How long do you think it'll take Prongsie to convince Evans to go out with him?"

"The first Hogsmeade weekend."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "So soon? I say Halloween. What about you, Wormtail?"

"Christmas?" Peter shrugged. "I don't know."

"How about we place a bet on it?" Sirius challenged. "The winner gets all his expenses covered for the Hogsmeade weekend after they start dating."

"Honeydukes chocolate included? Deal," Remus said.

Peter agreed to it, seeing no alternative.

"I'll win this," Sirius said confidently.

"We'll see."

Next to the window, Lily Luna had fallen asleep and Teddy had covered her with his jacket. He sat back to watch the three Marauders. If they were going to be stuck in the past, he might as well get used to this.

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><p><em><strong>Review please!<strong>_

_**About Teddy's alias, Harrison means 'Harry's son'. After all, he is Harry's godson and Lily is Harry's daughter.**_


	3. Red and Gold

_**Chapter 3! I hope that you enjoy it! Thank you for supporting the story so far.**_

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><p>The Hogwarts Express slowed, waking Teddy. He rubbed his eyes blearily and decided against waking Lily. Instead, he gently gathered her into his arms and followed the other students to step upon Hogsmeade Station.<p>

Horseless carriages stood to the side, waiting for the students. Some were already starting to fill with Hogwarts students of various years. The first years were lead towards the lake by a man he assumed to be the caretaker of that time. He headed towards the carriages. A voice called him and he clambered into the one the Marauders had boarded.

"Teddy?" Lily awoke as the carriages started towards the school.

"Hush," he told her soothingly. "We're almost there. The Headmaster will help us."

Thus reassured, Lily sank back into sleep.

The carriages ground to a stop in front of the main doors of Hogwarts castle. Students alighted and filed inside. The Great Hall was filled with students milling around, the sound of their voices bouncing off the walls. The light from the candles washed out into the hallway, but Remus led Teddy and Lily to the side and up several flights of stairs.

"It seems that Professor Dumbledore is not in the Great Hall," Remus explained. "Hopefully, he hasn't left his office yet."

As they neared the Headmaster's office, they could hear the voices of two people.

"I had best be on my way, Albus. The first years will be arriving any moment now."

"Yes, yes. Go on, then."

Minerva McGonagall passed them in the hallway and nodded when Remus greeted her. She glanced at Teddy and Lily curiously but didn't say anything, simply continuing briskly towards the Great Hall to greet the first-years.

They found the Headmaster just outside his office.

"Professor Dumbledore," Remus called.

The elderly wizard turned and smiled. "Mr. Lupin. What is the matter?" His bright blue eyes landed on Teddy and shifted to Lily, who was groggily rubbing her eyes. "Ah."

"Ted Harrison, sir," Teddy introduced himself, as the Headmaster naturally did not know who he was.

"Ah, I see."

Teddy wasn't quite sure what Dumbledore saw, but accepted it as better than nothing. "May I have a word, sir? Privately," he requested.

"Of course," Dumbledore nodded. "Mr. Lupin, if you would excuse us?"

Remus nodded. "I'll return to the Great Hall."

"Thanks for bringing us here, Remus," Teddy called as he left. Remus smiled and gave a wave before he disappeared around the corner.

"Now, Mr. Harrison, shall we proceed to my office?" Dumbledore turned to the stone gargoyle. "Lollipop." The gargoyle leapt aside. Teddy and Lily followed the Headmaster up the staircase. "I recently discovered this muggle sweet, it is very good. Have you tried it?"

Teddy had heard tales from his godfather about the late Headmaster's particular fondness for all kinds of sweets. "I am quite fond of it myself, sir," he managed with a straight face.

"Excellent." The Headmaster opened the door leading to the office. "Take a seat." Dumbledore waved towardsa set of comfortable armchairs before seating himself behind the desk. Lily stared in fascination at the whirring devices on a side table. Dumbledore regarded the pair of them gravely over half-moon glasses. "I'm afraid, my dear boy, that you have the advantage on me. I haven't the remotest idea who you are. Except your name, but I believe that it is false."

"Indeed, sir," Teddy agreed. "Our real names would undoubtedly raise unwanted questions. We're from the future, Professor."

"I am beginning to understand. Do continue."

"I was preparing to board the Hogwarts Express for my last year. Lily," he waved towards the little girl and Dumbledore looked at her with interest, "accidentally dropped my time turner and it shattered. We ended up on Platform 9 and ¾ in this year. And so I decided to come to Hogwarts and hope that you have way to send us back."

"That is a very vague explanation," Dumbledore said, not revealing anything in his expression.

"I do not think it prudent to reveal too many details."

"That is wise. But I must have proof that you speak the truth. Do you have the remnants of the time turner you spoke of? I assume that it is used to move through time?"

"Normally, it can only bring people back a few hours at most. Breaking it seemed to have lifted that restriction. Unfortunately, the entire device turned to sand and vanished."

"Then, will to consent to a mind-reading? I will make sure not to look in too much detail about the future, just enough to confirm your words. I would suggest veritaserum, but I'm afraid we do not have any at hand."

Teddy nodded. "Alright then."

Dumbledore stood and came around the desk to stand next to Teddy, who stood as well. "Meet my eyes, this will only take a moment." He raised his wand. "Legilimens."

Images flipped through Teddy's mind. He saw the Burrow and happy times with the large Weasley family. The scene changed and for a moment Teddy thought that he was back in the office. But it was a memory, a recent one. Minerva McGonagall, looking much older than the woman he had just seen, had summoned him to her office before the start of the school term and was handing him a time turner, telling him to be careful with it. Come to think of it, there had been something secretive about her demeanor, as if she knew something that he didn't. Behind the desk, there were two more portraits than there were in 1977.

Teddy found himself back in the office, with Dumbledore looked at him thoughtfully.

The Headmaster clapped his hands once. "Well, then, I think that is sufficient proof that you are speaking the truth. However, as timeturners have not been invented yet, I do not know of an immediate way to send you back. You'll have to stay here for a while, until I find a solution. Now why don't we join the students for the welcoming feast? The Sorting should be about finished by now. That reminds me, what house and year are you in, Mr. Harrison?"

"Gryffindor seventh-year, sir."

"Excellent, excellent. Young Miss Harrison will be able to stay in the girls' dorm. I will inform your Head of House, Professor McGonagall about this. Let us go, then. I believe that a certain group of students likely have entertainment planned for tonight." There was a twinkle in his eye.

As Teddy and Lily followed Dumbledore to the Great Hall, he hoped to Merlin that they wouldn't change history too much, intentionally or not.

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><p>Sure enough, the four Marauders, now reunited, had set up the most elaborate prank they had done during the whole of their time in school. "Start off our last year with a bang," as Sirius had said.<p>

They were currently sitting together at the Gryffindor table, impatiently waiting for the Sorting to end.

"Why isn't Dumbledore here yet?" Sirius grumbled under his breath.

"He's probably arranging the Harrisons' matters. They are still absent as well," Remus said reasonably.

"There he is!" Peter's cry alerted them to the entrance of the Headmaster just as the McGonagall read off the last few name on the first-year list and the Sorting Hat yelled out "Ravenclaw!"

Teddy and Lily had slipped in at the back of the hall. Remus noticed and waved for the pair to join them, which they did gratefully.

"Be prepared to see the best show of your life," James told them with a grin.

The Deputy Headmistress had rolled up the list and Dumbledore was now standing at his place at the main table.

"I would like to say a few words before we start the feast," the Headmaster said. There was slight commotion among the students as the air behind him started to shimmer. The Marauders sat up straighter in their seats to get a better view. Teddy did the same, lifting Lily into his lap so that she could see as well. "Hoggy Warty Hogwarts!"

Several students laughed as the words formed behind the Headmaster in large glittering letters that flashed through all colors of the rainbow. Then the real fun began.

It started raining in the Great Hall. Oh, it was not a large raincloud. That would have been too easy to get free of. Every single person present had an individual cloud that poured water on their target in a very determined way.

Strange thing, no one was getting wet. Well, except the Slytherins, of course. Those unfortunate individual were spluttering as they got completely soaked. Everyone else glanced at their clouds curiously, wondering about the purpose of it. Teddy watched as little Lily ran about cheerfully, a tiny cloud following her.

Suddenly, the purpose became clear. Their clothes abruptly changed color. The Gryffindors found themselves dressed in bright red, the Ravenclaws were cobalt blue and the Hufflepuffs wore sunshine yellow. The Slytherins ended up with a ghastly shade of puke green. The teachers' clothes were similarly dyed, turning a fantastic golden color.

The next step was hair. The Gryffindors simultaneously turned golden-haired. Next were the Ravenclaws with bronze-colored hair and the Hufflepuffs with black hair. The poor Slytherins, instead of getting silver hair, simply got white.

Soon, all of the clouds had exhausted their supply of rainwater and vanished. Most of the students laughed and clapped, and then settled down to eat. But the prank was not quite over yet.

The candles along the walls suddenly snuffed out. Several students yelled out in surprise and fright. Forks clattered onto plates and a few goblets tipped over in the chaos.

The darkness did not last long, however. Magnificent fireworks erupted from the candle holders, bathing the Hall in a multitude of colors. The display ended with four shimmering figures rising up towards the ceiling. Vaguely, they could make out the form of a wolf, a mouse, a dog and a stag.

The lights went back on, causing everyone to blink as they adapted to the bright light cast by the candles. Someone in the Gryffindor table started applauding, which spread through the entire Great Hall as the students cheered and clapped. Even the teachers where smiling.

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><p>After the food had disappeared from the table, Dumbledore stood to address the students.<p>

"Well, between the stunning performance and the welcome feast," several students cheered, "I believe everyone is ready to start the new school year! The rules will be posted in the common room of every House. The list of items that are forbidden in school currently comprises of three-hundred items, if memory serves me right. Please remember that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden for a very good reason," At that, Dumbledore sent a speaking glance at the Marauders, who gave him identical innocent looks. The corners of his mouth twitched. After a light cough, he continued. "And therefore is not to be entered by any student. The village of Hogsmeade is also out-of-bounds to students below third year. That will be all. Off to bed with all of you. Good night!"

Teddy stood to leave with the other students. "One moment, Mr. Harrison." He turned to see Prof. McGonagall striding briskly towards him. "Dumbledore has told me a bit about your… circumstances. I am told that you are to be a seventh-year Gryffindor?"

"Yes, Professor." Teddy wondered how much information Dumbledore had given her.

"What subjects did you take in your sixth year?" They were walking along the hall a little bit behind the main crowd. Lily trailed sleepily after them, her hand firmly held by Teddy.

After he listed out all the classes he was supposed to take this year, McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "That is a quite a number, Mr. Harrison."

Teddy grinned sheepishly. That was what the timeturner had been for, after all. Some of the subjects had overlapping timetables in his time. And he had left out subjects like Modern History of Magic. That subject had been added to the Hogwarts subject list after 1998, which meant that he could hardly study about it in his present circumstances. Moreover, as his friends often teased, he had practically grown up with the textbook. It was still fascinating though, to read about his godfather and his friends from any outsiders' point of view.

Prof McGonagall continued speaking after referring to a list. "It's a good thing that another Gryffindor student shares the same timetable, or else I'll have to arrange for you to take classes with the Ravenclaws."

They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Mcgonagall said the password and they entered the common room. Her sharp eyes swept across the room, locating the student she sought for.

"Mr Lupin, Miss Evans, may I have a word?" she called. Several heads turned to look at her in surprise. A sandy-haired boy detached himself from his friends. Teddy didn't know whether to feel happy or nervous that his father was going to be sharing all his classes. He didn't quite trust himself not to let anything slip. The red-haired Head Girl arrived from another direction where she had been talking with a friend.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Mr Lupin, I'll trust you to bring Mr Harrison around until he is more acquainted to the school. He'll be taking the same subjects as you, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Remus smiled at Teddy, who gave a slightly weak smile in return.

Mcgonagall turned back to Teddy. "A bed has been set up for you in the seventh-year boys' dorm. I have also arranged for Miss Harrison to sleep in the seventh-year's girl's dorm, as there is an extra bed. Miss Evans will take good care of her."

"You can count on me," Lily Evans affirmed. She bent down to smile at Lily Luna. "Shall we go up now?"

Lily Luna nodded, then paused as she remembered something. She rummaged around in her coat pocket and drew out two tiny boxes. Closer inspection revealed them to be trunks, shrunk by Reducio. Taking them from her, Teddy cast the counter spell.

He recognized one as being Ginny's and the other was probably Harry's spare trunk. Upon opening, he found that one was packed with Lily's clothes, and the other with his, a few school robes and miscellaneous items required for his classes, slightly worn by age. He guessed that they were most likely Harry's old ones, as he had clearly packed his own in the trunk which he had put in the train. When had the adults managed to do this was beyond him, but he was extremely grateful. This further concreted the suspicion that they had known about this all along.

Closing the trunks, he tried to look as if this was expected.

"I'll help Lily with hers, so you don't have to worry," offered Evans.

Teddy smiled at her and nodded. "Thanks."

"Well, I'll leave you in their capable hands. Good night." The students dutifully bid their teacher good night as well.

"Come, I'll show you the way," Remus said as Teddy cast a levitating charm on his trunk.

As he lay on the bed in the dorm later that night, he wondered how they were going to return to their time. And a tiny voice in his head asked him a question that he had been avoiding every time he saw his father. Did he really want to go back?

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><p><em><strong>Please review!<strong>_


	4. Friendship

_**On to Chapter 4! Woo-hoo~!**_

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><p>Teddy was awoken the next morning by a hand shaking his shoulder. He turned and burrowed his head further into his pillow. "Five more minutes, Ginny..."<p>

There was a snicker from somewhere nearby and the next thing he knew, he was completely drenched. Teddy shot up, cursing under his breath. "James Sirius P-" he cut off his yell in time.

The culprit was not 10-year-old James Sirius Potter, and he was not in his room at number 4, Grimmauld Place. For a moment, he sat on his damp bed, staring at the two boys.

"Rise and shine, sleepy-head!" James Potter said with a grin.

Teddy groaned and buried his head back into his pillow. Seems like yesterday's events hadn't been a dream after all.

"You better get up now if you don't want to miss breakfast. Hogwarts offers the best food in the world!" Sirius added. Teddy was further reminded of his current predicament. In this era, he was a new transfer student that naturally would know nothing about Hogwarts. He must be careful not to let anything slip.

Teddy sighed and swung his legs off the bed. As he trudged towards the bathroom, he said without looking at the duo, "Don't even thinking of messing with my stuff."

"We weren't going to do anything!" they protested in unison. Teddy snorted.

* * *

><p>The first lesson of the day was Transfiguration. Having Professor McGonagall as a teacher was a novel experience, he had to admit. In his time, Transfiguration had been taken over by Professor Clearwater. He sat down next to Remus. James, Sirius and Peter had arranged themselves in the row behind them.<p>

As Teddy waved his wand over the branch that he was supposed to be turning into a clock, his mind drifted towards little Lily. He wondered what the young girl was currently up to. Was someone taking care of her? Evans was in class with him, surely Lily wouldn't have been left to her own devices? What if she got lost?

"What might this be, Mr Harrison?" a stern voice broke into his panicked musings.

Startled, Teddy looked up at Professor McGonagall and then down at his branch. Or at least, what used to be a branch. On the table sat a tolerably-good replica of Lily's favorite stuffed snitch. He grinned sheepishly.

The corner of the Professor's mouth twitched as she summoned a new branch for him. "I expect you to pay attention this time, Mr Harrison."

Teddy chuckled as he stowed the stuffed toy away in his bag.

Remus shot him a laughing look. His own branch had turned into a sturdy little clock that was merrily ticking away. "For young Lily?"

"Yeah." Teddy grinned back, swishing his wand over the new branch. It turned into an alarm clock.

Remus snorted. "Well, perhaps with that, Sirius and James won't have to resort to pouring ice-cold water on you tomorrow."

"I wish," Teddy rolled his eyes. "They'll probably continue to do so anyway."

"For all that you have only been here for a day, you know them too well," Remus said with a laugh.

Teddy froze. He reminded himself that Remus had not meant anything by that. He couldn't possibly know. He forced himself to make a flippant reply. "I have a friend who's a total troublemaker. He may be worse that those two, even."

Before Remus could reply, Sirius piped up from one seat behind them, "That's impossible! We're the best pranksters ever, aren't we, Prongs?"

James mumbled something to the affirmative, his eyes admiring the way the morning sunlight bounced off Lily Evans' red hair.

Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes. "And this is why our standard is dropping. Prongs!"

"Wha-?" James blinked and turned to look at his friend.

"He's going dotty," Sirius told Peter in a confiding tone. "Bless his heart, he's growing old before he comes of age!"

"Such a sad case," Peter agreed solemnly.

"Sirius!" James growled in mock indignation. "Don't help him, Peter!"

"He will be dearly lamented..." Sirius continued sorrowfully.

"Is anything the matter, Mr Black?"

Sirius turned in his seat, a brilliant smile plastered on his face. "Nothing at all, Minnie! May I say that you look absolutely lovely today?"

Teddy choked. No one had ever dared to talk to the Headmistress that way in his years at Hogwarts.

"Focus on your work," Professor McGonagall strode away. However, there was a slightly heightened color in her cheeks.

Sirius winked at Remus, who gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Is that normal?" Teddy whispered to Remus.

"Absolutely."

* * *

><p>"I wonder what Lily has been doing all morning. My sister, I mean," said Teddy as he and the Marauders headed to the Great Hall for lunch after Potions.<p>

"Sleeping?" Remus suggested.

"Lily?" Teddy laughed. "She's a little ball of energy, always getting up earlier than the rest of the family." He sighed, thinking of Harry and Ginny. How were they going to get back?

The others thought that his sigh meant that he was thinking of his dead parents. An uncomfortable silence followed.

Sirius cut through the heavy silence. "Sounds like my cousin Dora. She's five and I've never seen anyone with so much energy. Though she's always tripping over something. There's never a moment of peace when I visit the Tonks," he said fondly.

Remus laughed. "Yes, I remember her. You always used to drag the lot of us when Andi asked you to babysit."

"She has us wrapped around her little finger. Especially you, Moony," added James with a grin.

They entered the Great Hall and found Lily Luna sitting happily next to her namesake at the Gryffindor table, getting cooed over by a majority of the Gryffindor female population.

"Teddy!" Lily Luna glanced up and waved cheerfully.

"Hey, kiddo. What have you been up to?" Teddy ruffled her hair playfully. Lily Luna swatted his hand away but beamed up at him.

"Alice brought me to see the greenhouses," Lily told him excitedly, a broad smile on her face.

The round-faced witch sitting next to her smiled and nodded to Teddy. Teddy recognized the girl as being Neville's future mother. Even though he had never met Mrs Longbottom before, there was a marked resemblance between her and his Herbology professor.

"I hope that Lily didn't trouble you."

"It was no problem at all! Lily is a delightful girl, and I had some free time anyway," Alice said in her customary good-natured manner.

Meanwhile, James had slid discretely into the space on the bench between the two Lily's. He offered a pumpkin pasty to little Lily, who munched into it contently. Turning toward Lily Evans, he gave her a charming smile. "Pumpkin pasty, Evans?"

She ignored him and reached for a piece of chicken. James sighed. "Oh, she's so cold, my lovely Lily-flower." he said theatrically.

Little Lily giggled into her pumpkin juice. The subject of the proclamation rolled her eyes.

James turned to Lily Luna and winked. "Well, my dear Miss Harrison, I think that you need a nickname too. Since you're little Lily, I suppose that I'll just call you Lily-bud." He tweaked her nose. "How do you like that?"

Lily grinned back at him. "Daddy calls me Princess, but I like that nickname too."

"Alright then, it's settled!" James ruffled her hair. "Now eat your lunch properly, or else you'll be a midget forever."

She stuck her tongue out at him but turned back to her food anyway.

Lily Evans watched the playful exchange with a thoughtful look on her face.

* * *

><p>The next few days breezed by in the same manner. The Marauders and Lily took turns showing Lily and Teddy around Hogwarts. Once in a while, Alice and some other girls joined in. By the end of the week, Teddy was on good terms with all of the Gryffindor seventh years and felt like he had been friends with them forever. They were so welcoming and friendly to him and Lily.<p>

He spent most of his time with the Marauders, who accepted him as a friend. But he knew that he was not privy to their more daring escapades, choosing to act in secret. Well, he could understand. They had been friends for seven years but had only met him seven days ago. They weren't going to let him in on their secrets. He had already heard some from his godfather, though. The Marauders couldn't know that.

They had been acting more and more secretive as the days went by. Remus was also developing a rather sickly pallor. Alone in the library, Teddy flipped open the lunar charts. The full moon was tomorrow, on Sunday. He wondered what excuse they would give him for Remus' absence.

The sound of movement nearby made Teddy quickly hide the book under a stack of his own. Not a moment too soon. Remus came round the bookcases and smiled when he spotted Teddy. Teddy couldn't help but notice his tired expression, though. The other boy looked dead on his feet.

He chose not to comment on it, knowing that it'll only increase Remus' tension. "How's your Charms homework coming along? I have no idea how I'm going to achieve the required length." Teddy gestured with a sigh towards the roll of parchment on the table, which currently held only two lines.

Remus chuckled. "Well, I would recommend using this book..." He reached out to pull out a book from the stack. Unfortunately, that drew his attention to a certain book hidden at the bottom. He froze. Teddy paled.

"Um... That's for Astronomy homework..." he trailed off. Both of them knew perfectly well that there was no such Astronomy homework.

Remus' expression was unreadable. It was as if his features were carved in stone.

With a sigh, Teddy decided to tell the truth. "My father was a werewolf. I'm not one, but full moons make me twitchy. Just a little aching in the bones. I also become restless, but that's all. It's a small side effect compared to what werewolves go through. Sometimes I take a drop of Sleeping Potion and it does the trick." He pulled out the lunar chart. "With the recent move, I kinda lost track of the lunar cycle, so..." He shrugged. A fraction of the truth, but the truth nonetheless.

Remus didn't look entirely convinced, but relaxed anyway. "The lycanthropy wasn't passed down?" he asked, torn between hope and disbelief.

Teddy looked into his eyes. "No, it wasn't. I'm not a werewolf."

Remus just nodded. It was more than he could have ever hoped for, hearing something like this. But who would love a werewolf? Teddy's mother had, but she was surely an exception. Could he be so lucky?

* * *

><p>Lily Luna wandered through Hogwarts, humming cheerfully. She had slipped away when James had approached Lily to ask her out for the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend trip. Now she walked by herself through the corridors. She spotted a lone figure climbing up the staircase that joined the dungeons to the ground floor. She paused, peering curiously. The person looked somewhat familiar. Where had she seen him before...? Ah!<p>

Moving towards the black-haired teen with a smile, she asked innocently, "Are you Severus?"

Severus Snape stared hard at the tiny red-haired girl who had so daringly approached him and somehow knew his name. She reminded him of a very young Lily, from a time when he had just met her and they had both been so innocent and carefree. He sneered. "What is it to you?"

Instead of cowering, the girl gave him a radiant smile. "You don't have to pretend to be mean, you know. I know that you're actually very nice, no matter what James says."

A look of distaste crossed his face. "James Potter? Gryffindor seventh-year?"

Lily Luna shook her head vigorously. "No, James, my brother. He hasn't started Hogwarts yet, but Daddy brought us to see you once and you were mean to him." She smiled. "You were very nice to me and Al, though."

Severus' irritation turned into confusion. He guessed that this 'Al' was likely another one of her brothers, but when had they ever met him? He had no recollection of it. Who was her father, anyway?

"What's your name?"

"Lily Luna."

Well, that sure was _helpful_. "Surname?" he almost snapped.

The girl was unfazed by his curtness. "Harrison. It's not my real name, but Teddy told me that I couldn't tell anyone my real name."

Alright, he hadn't expected that answer. "So... Lily Luna, how do you know me?"

Lily glanced around before beckoning him closer. Intrigued by this little girl's antics, he complied.

"You must keep this a _secret_," she told him solemnly, putting emphasis on the word 'secret'. "Teddy said not to tell anybody, but I can tell you because I know you already. Pinky promise?" Lily stuck out her little finger and Severus, feeling somewhat overwhelmed, allowed her to hook her finger through his.

"Daddy brought James, Al and me to Hogwarts last year. He wanted us to meet you and Professor Dumbledore. You didn't like James, 'cause James is noisy. You were on the wall, though, so you could only talk to us." She grinned. "I think I like you better like this."

She tugged at his sleeve. "Will you play with me? You promised that you would play with me if you could."

He had absolutely no recollection of making such a promise. However, it was hard to feel irritated with this little girl. He relented. "What do you want to do?"

Lily Luna put a finger to her chin, a thoughtful expression on her cute face. "I want to s'plore downstairs."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "You mean explore."

"That's what I said. James and Fred are always off s'ploring." She looked at the staircase. "I wanted to go by myself, but it looks dark and scary. Lily and Alice won't bring me down there." She pouted.

"There isn't much to see down in the dungeon, actually."

Lily put her hands on her hips. "But I want to go," she said stubbornly.

Well, it wasn't as if he had anything to do right now. "If you insist... Let's go, then."

Lily Luna gave a cheer and quickly followed him as he turned to go down. She grabbed his hand. Severus was startled but didn't object. It had been a long time since anyone had touched him. Her tiny hand was warm.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I think that the idea of Lily Luna forming a friendship with Severus is super adorable. What do you think?<strong>_

_**Review please!**_

_**PS- I have a school test next week, so I probably won't be able to come online for a while. I should be able to post the next chapter in two weeks time. Stay tuned!**_


	5. A Trip to Hogsmeade

_**Chapter 5! Enjoy!**_

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><p>The full moon came and went. The first Hogsmeade weekend of the year drew closer. James Potter continued to pester Lily Evans. His friends watched in amusement.<p>

"Hate to have so little faith in Prongsie boy, but you're losing this bet, Moony," commented Sirius as they watched Lily move hastily away from James.

"There's still a week to go, Padfoot. We'll see." Remus was unruffled, calmly selecting a cream puff and popping it into his mouth.

Sirius turned to Teddy. "What do you think? Will James successfully woo his fair maiden?"

Teddy sipped his tea as glanced at where James was looking dejected. "It's hard to say..." he said thoughtfully. "But I think that Remus' prediction isn't completely out of the picture yet." He had noticed that Lily Evans seemed to have softened slightly towards James in recent days. "I agree with Remus. The first Hogsmeade weekend."

"Then will you join the bet?" Sirius dared him with a grin.

Teddy shrugged and then smirked. "Why not?"

* * *

><p>James sat the bottom of the stairs leading to the first-floor, looking dejected. Lily Luna sat next to him, occasionally sneaking sideways glances at him. He sighed, and she mimicked. He looked at her with an amused expression and ruffled her hair.<p>

"You're here to cheer me up, Lily-bud? Thanks."

Lily grinned. "Daddy says that he feels happy when he sees me."

"Your Daddy's a lucky chap to have you as a daughter." He put an arm around her and she scooted closer to snuggle up against him. "I bet you miss him lots."

Lily nodded. "But its okay because I have Teddy. And now I have you and Sirius and Remus and Peter and Lily and Alice and..."

"I get it, I get it," James cut her off with a laugh. "I'm glad that you like having us with you." He stood up. "No use sulking. Want to go to the lake?"

"Okay!" Lily Luna chirped, clambering to her feet. She directed large doe eyes at James. "Piggy back ride? Please?"

James smiled and agreed. He squatted down to allow her to get on. "Hold on tight, kid. Off we go!"

"Yay!"

Turning the corner, they encountered someone unexpected. That someone was quite flustered at being seen. "Evans?"

"I was just passing by!" Lily proclaimed hastily.

"We're going to the lake! Come with us?" asked Lily Luna.

The older Lily shook her head. "I... I have work to do." She made to walk off.

"Evans! Go to Hogsmeade with me!" James called at her retreating back.

"I'll think about it!" Lily yelled back.

James froze for a moment before moving towards the doors leading out to the grounds. A huge happy smile spread across his face. "She didn't say no this time. She didn't say no!" Grinning, he charged towards the lake, Lily Luna giggling madly as she bounced up and down on his back. Lily Evans watched this from a window, a smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Remus held out a hand. Sirius grumpily gave him a huge bar of Honeydukes Best Chocolate. Three Marauders, one Metamorphmagus and one little red-head watched James Potter and Lily Evans walk by.<p>

"I still can't believe Evans gave in!" Sirius exclaimed in shock. The Hogsmeade weekend had finally arrived and brought no little shock to several Hogwarts students.

"I'm happy for James, though," Peter supplied timidly. He then sighed mournfully. "Though this bet is going to eat up my entire allowance, the way Moony is going."

Everyone laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not about to buy out Honeydukes' chocolate," Remus said. "Half will be perfectly fine," He continued with a straight face.

Sirius snorted and pushed Remus out of the shop. "Let us quickly get Moony away from chocolate, shall we?"

As the group walked out of Honeydukes, Remus announced that he wanted to go to the Three Broomsticks for butterbeer. Sirius declared that they should visit Zonko's first. An argument ensued as they tried to decide which one to head to next. Lily Luna sucked on one of the Sugar Quills, looking curiously around at the shops as she followed them.

However, before they could move more than five steps, they were accosted by a green whirlwind that cast itself on Sirius. He staggered, his breath knocked out of him with an exaggerated 'Oof!'.

"Popular with the ladies, aren't you?" commented Remus, greatly amused.

"No matter where I go, they always find me," Sirius agreed with mock aggravation. "Dora, whatever are you doing here?" Five-year-old Nymphadora Tonks beamed up at her favourite cousin.

"I had business in the area and Dora wanted to visit Honeydukes." Teddy turned and came face-to-face with a much younger version of his grandmother. Andromeda smiled warmly at her cousin's friends.

"Mama, Mama, it's Siri!" Dora announced excitedly. She laughed in delight when Sirius hoisted her onto his shoulders. Remus offered her a bar of chocolate which she accepted happily.

"You're getting heavy, Dora. Remus, don't feed her! I'll collapse from the added weight," Sirius teased. Dora whacked the back his head, being in an optimum position to do so.

Teddy could only stare at the scene. He had thought that meeting his teenage father was weird, but this was completely surreal.

Andromeda noticed him. "How do you do, I'm Sirius' cousin Andromeda. We haven't met before, I believe."

Teddy shook her hand and smiled, shrugging off the strangeness of introducing himself to his own grandmother. "I just transferred to Hogwarts this year. My name is Ted Harrison. Just call me Teddy."

"And I'm Lily!" Lily Luna added brightly from next to Teddy.

"My sister," Teddy explained. "She's staying at Hogwarts temporarily, until my aunt recovers from her leg injury."

"Dora, why don't you go play with Lily?" Sirius suggested, putting her back on the ground.

Dora looked at Lily curiously and then stuck out her hand. "Wotcher, I'm Dora."

"Lily," Lily Luna replied with a smile. "I like your hair."

"Thanks," Dora's grin widened. "I'm a Me-ta-mor-ph-ma-gus," she told Lily, pronouncing each syllable carefully.

Lily nodded knowingly. "That's cool. Teddy is one too." She looked up at the boy. "Right, Teddy?"

Teddy smiled and knelt down to the girls' level. He extended his hand and Dora shook it solemnly. "I'm Teddy, how do you do," he said, hoping that the slight quaver in his voice was not noticeable.

"Wotcher," Dora replied with a broad grin. "You are a Me-ta-mor-ph-ma-gus?"

"Yup." Teddy changed his hair to match her green mane.

"Cool! I've never met another one before. Mama says Me-ta-mor-ph-ma-gus are really rare."

"I've never met anyone Metamorphmagus either, before you," Teddy said, drawn by the little girl's charm.

Dora nodded her head vigorously. "Nice ta meet you." She turned to Lily. "Let's play!" she said cheerfully.

The little girls skipped off hand-in-hand to catch up with the Marauders. That is, until Dora tripped on thin air and toppled over, dragging Lily down with her.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked, concerned.

"Right as rain!" Dora announced, nonchalantly getting to her feet again. It was obviously a common occurrence. Teddy snorted under his breath as he remembered his godfather telling him about his mother's notorious clumsiness.

Watching his father joke around with his friends and being able to witness first-hand his mother's bubbly nature was like a dream come true. He was forcibly reminded that he had to return home one day. Stifling a sigh, he jogged to join the others. Unbeknownst to him, Andromeda watched him with a speculative expression.

* * *

><p>Upon entering the Three Broomsticks, they soon noticed a certain pair of seventh-years sitting at a small table in the corner. Sirius, sporting a large grin, lead his friends to a conveniently empty table nearby. Thus, they had an almost perfect vantage point to spy on said couple. Unfortunately, it wasn't particularly subtle. Especially when a now pink-haired little girl tripped, knocking over a pot of ferns.<p>

"What in Merlin's-" James spun around and then cocked an eyebrow. "Sirius, mate, you do realise that you have leaves in your hair, right?" Opposite him, Lily Evans laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

James and Lily decided to join the group at their larger table.

"So," Sirius started with utter lack of tact, wagging his eyebrows suggestively, "What have you two been up to all day?"

Lily Evans swished her wand and a cup of water emptied its contents on Sirius' head. Everyone laughed uproariously as he spluttered.

"You have to admit that you deserved that, Sirius," Remus said when he recovered.

"Sirius, stop that!" Andromeda admonished as Sirius shook his head like a dog to rid his hair of water. She took out her wand and dried him magically.

James rolled his eyes. "Do you really expect us to tell you what we've been doing, Padfoot? We're on a date, after-"

"Potter! For the last time, this is not a date!" Lily's face was red. She turned back to the others. "Potter had the nerve to suggest that we visit Madam Puddifoot's. I've never heard such a hare-brained suggestion in my life! Of all places..." That sent them off in hysterical laughter once more.

James held up his hands in surrender. "I get it, I get it, Lils. It's just that most girls seem to want to go there."

"If you think that I'm like those simpering, shallow idiots, you don't know me at all, James Potter."

"I've always known that you're different. And I'm so glad that I fell for you," James said with a suddenly serious expression. Lily blushed.

Andromeda muttered something about ordering drinks and dragged Sirius along with her. Teddy and Remus quietly followed suit, picking up Lily Luna and Dora, while Peter quickly followed them.

From the bar, they watched the couple. Sirius gave a low whistle. "Prongs is really going for it this time."

"I think that his earnestness will have more effect on Lily than his usual flamboyant words," Remus said. "She'll be able so see how much James has matured."

Teddy smiled softly. He was watching history in motion, witnessing the blossoming relationship that would eventually lead to their marriage and later, having Harry.

"We had better allow them their privacy," Andromeda reminded gently, "Why don't we go get something to eat?"

They sat down and started discussing what to do next over butterbeer and chips. A few metres away, James Potter and Lily Evans were holding hands under the table.

* * *

><p><strong><em>I have a feeling that Lily is the type of girl who would like someone who is sincere. I've also portrayed James to be good with kids, and I think that Lily would like that side of him. What do you think?<em>**

**_Please review! Constructive criticism is welcome, especially concerning character development. I hope that you liked this chapter!_**


	6. Far From Home

**_Chapter 6!_**

**_I'm so sorry for posting so late! I had exams for the past few weeks and forgot to inform everyone in the previous chapter! (bows) I'm really sorry!_**

* * *

><p>The moment Severus stepped out of his Potions class, he was immediately accosted by a tiny red-haired ball of energy. "Sev, Sev! Let's go to the Owlery!"<p>

An eyebrow rose. "Why don't you ask your brother to go with you?"

"The Gryffindors have DADA now. Please? I want to send a letter to Dora and I don't know how to tie a knot so that it won't drop off." She tugged fearlessly at his sleeve, bouncing up and down energetically. A normal child would have been scared off by his dark appearance. Lily Luna, however, was completely undaunted.

"How do you know I don't have any more lessons?"

"Do you?" Lily asked, her spirits dampening.

Severus sighed. Why did he have such a soft spot for this little girl? He never used to be so soft. "No. All right, I'll go with you. But it'll have to be quick. I have work to do."

"Yay!"

* * *

><p>James glowered and everyone else stepped carefully around him, wondering what had caused this change in mood to happen. For the past few days, his happiness at finally getting Lily Evans to accept him had blocked out any form of irritation. Whatever had happened, it was serious enough to burst his bubble. "I can't believe this!" he suddenly yelled out. A few first-years scuttled nervously away.<p>

"Can't believe what?" Remus asked absently, his nose buried in a book.

"I saw Lily hanging out with Snivellus! _Snivellus!_"

"They made up?" Sirius asked incredulously, "Even though the git called her a you-know-what?"

James looked confused for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, not Evans. Lily Luna! Our baby Lily-bud! He'll corrupt her innocent mind!" he resumed with great feeling.

Teddy listened to James' rantings interestedly. He had known that little Lily had met Severus Snape's portrait in the future and apparently gotten along quite well with him, so he wasn't exactly surprised that she had sought him out in this time. However, it was rather worrying as he couldn't be sure whether Snape was currently a Death Eater or not. It was best to be careful. He made a mental note to keep an eye on those two in the future. Harry would kill him if anything happened to his precious little girl.

* * *

><p>The Marauders, Lily Luna and Teddy were lazing around by the lake. It was beautifully sunny, perfect for a day outdoors. They were all thankful that it was a Sunday. James and Sirius were having a random competition to see who could throw pieces of bread further. They had smuggled out the fresh bread from the breakfast table that morning, much to the delight of the Giant Squid. Peter stood a distance away from the edge of the lake, cheering them on. Lily Luna squatted by the water's edge, watching the large tentacle coil around the food in fascination. Remus was quietly reading a book, his back against a tree.<p>

Teddy whipped out his camera and snapped a photo of the scene. He couldn't resist but take a close-up on Remus. His teenage father was totally immersed in his reading.

"That's a nice camera. Where did you get it?" A voice nearby startled him. He switched off the camera on reflex before turning to face Lily Evans. His heart was thumping. It wouldn't do for anyone to see the number of candid photos of Remus he had taken so far. It would come across as suspicion.

"I bought it in Hogsmeade last week. It thought that it would be nice to have some memories, especially since we only have one year left in school."

Lily nodded. Teddy expected her to join James by the lake, but Lily stared down at her shoes, deep in thought. Teddy looked at her curiously. She looked as if she was struggling to find words to say something.

Finally Lily looked up at him again. She bit her lower lip lightly. "I need to talk to you. It's about Lily Luna. She... Oh, I don't know how to say this." Lily broke off.

Teddy watched her, his heart hammering. He felt an increasing amount of worry. What was wrong?

"She's been crying for the past few night, when she thinks that no one else is awake. She puts on a brave front during the day, but I think she misses her parents. The girls are all worried about her but we're still strangers to her after all." Lily shrugged, a helpless gesture.

Teddy cursed himself mentally. In his joy of having a chance to spend time with his father, he had forgotten about young Lily, separated from her parents. He had been so absorbed in his own feelings that he hadn't even thought about how Lily felt. She had always acted so cheerful. Now that he thought of it, she had seemed rather tired for the past few mornings.

"Thanks for telling me," Teddy said to Lily Evans with a small smile. He moved forward to sit next to Lily Luna by the lakeside. He put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "I'm sorry. I'll get us back home soon, I promise," he said so that only she could hear. He leaned over to kiss the top of her head.

Lily Luna buried her face into his shirt and wrapped her little arms around him. He could feel the front of his shirt slowly getting wet. "I miss Mummy and Daddy," she said with a sniff, her voice muffled by cloth.

Teddy hugged her tightly, burying his face in her cherry-red hair. "I'm sorry, Lils."

* * *

><p>Teddy yawned widely and rubbed his eyes. His words on the book he was reading blurred. He shook his head resolutely to clear it.<p>

"I'm going to bed," announced Remus as he ended his Ancient Runes essay. He glanced over at Teddy. "Coming?"

Teddy shook his head, but unsuccessfully tried to stifle another yawn. "A little while longer. I want to-" (yawn) "-finish this book."

Remus shrugged. "If you say so." He trudged up the stairs leading to the boys' dorm as Teddy once again tried to focus on the text before him.

Ten minutes later, Remus came down to get his pencil case, which he had accidentally left on the table, only to find Teddy dozing on the sofa, his book almost sliding off his lap. Remus quickly caught it as it headed towards the ground. He looked at Teddy and smiled in fond exasperation. Teddy mumbled something and shifted, still sleeping. His hair slowly started to fade into a different colour. Remus' heart thudded when he realized that it had turned a sandy brown exactly like his own.

Remus dismissed it as coincidence, turning to place Teddy's book on a side table. He couldn't help but notice that it was a book borrowed from the library. However, it was the title that was most striking. "Moving Through Time, Is It Possible?" Remus read with a raised eyebrow.

He glanced again at Teddy, sleeping on the couch with sandy brown hair. Was it coincidence? Or something else? Why was Teddy reading a book about time travel?

* * *

><p><strong><em>I'm sorry that it's so short. If I had tried to make it longer, it would probably be updated next week. I promise to make the next chapter longer, though!<em>**

**_Please review! I love your comments! (PS- Why are there more story alerts than reviews? O_O)_**


	7. To Get What You Require

_**Chapter 7! Oh yeah~!**_

**_To my readers: _****_Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope that you'll continue to do so... (hint, hint) (winks)_**

**_I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter as well!_**

* * *

><p>Teddy sighed and collapsed into a chair in the library. He had even requested permission to go through the Restriction Section but so far, he had found absolutely nothing on time travel. Like Professor Dumbledore had said, time travel simply hadn't been invented yet.<p>

Where could he go to get what he needed?

Wait. Teddy froze. A place where he could get whatever he wanted. A place that would give him anything he _required_. He was amazed that he hadn't thought of it before. Springing to his feet, he dashed out of the library, almost knocking over the several first-years. After a quick apology, he was off again, running towards the seventh floor. Or to be more exact, the hidden entrance to a room opposite the tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls ballet.

* * *

><p>Teddy had never personally entered the Room of Requirement before, as the room had either been destroyed by Fiendfyre or had relocated itself during the castle renovations after the War. However, he had heard many stories about it from Harry and his friends. In fact, it was mentioned in his Modern History of Magic textbook. He hoped that he hadn't forgotten the way to activate it when he slid to a stop.<p>

Panting from exertion, he started pacing in the area, muttering under his breath, "A room containing books on all kinds of possible time travel means. A comfortable chair to read it and good lighting. Let no one disturb me."

After he had walked past the hidden entrance three times, a door appeared. It was simple, not very different from the door to Harry's study. He quickly turned the doorknob and let himself in, closing the door behind him.

The scene within made him gasp in delight. Rows and rows of books lined the shelves that took up one side of the room. A large armchair reminiscent to the plush chairs Ginny had placed in the Grimmauld Place living room sat in the centre of the room. Large windows decorated the walls, allowing sufficient light into the room, making the space bright and cheery. Perfect.

His eyes scanned through the array of books in the bookcase nearest to him. He selected 'Sands of Time- A comprehensive guide to time travel' and sat down to read.

* * *

><p>"Has anyone seen Teddy?" James asked.<p>

The other Marauders shook their head. "He's been disappearing recently. I've seen him going into the library a couple of times... Maybe he's there?" Remus suggested.

"Why don't we just use the Map?" Sirius said, whipping it out of a pocket. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to good."

The four young men leaned over the enchanted parchment. After a moment of silence, Peter piped up. "I don't see him anywhere."

"Neither do I."

"That's strange, surely he can't be off the grounds!" James reasoned.

"Maybe we just missed him."

They turned at the sound of the portrait swinging open and saw Teddy enter the common room. He started towards them. James quickly wiped the Map clean and Sirius stuffed it back into his pocket.

"Where have you been?"

"Library. Have you guys finished the Transfiguration homework?" Conversation soon turned to complaints about the six-foot long essay Professor McGonagall had set them. Teddy's lack of appearance on the Map was soon forgotten.

* * *

><p>A few days later, the Marauders couldn't stand not knowing any longer. The situation with their newest friend was getting beyond weird.<p>

"Where _has_ Teddy been going? He's been vanishing to Merlin-knows-where for hours on end."

"I say let's follow him," Sirius said.

James seconded the motion. "I'll get the Cloak."

* * *

><p>And so the four Marauders squeezed under James' invisibility cloak and stealthily followed Teddy down the hallway. The Marauders huddled together in their corner of the common room. It was getting very cramped (actually, it had been a bit of a squeeze since third year) and they had to bend their knees so that their feet wouldn't show. It forced them a walk in a very awkward manner. But was that going to deter them? No way.<p>

Sirius took out the Map to check. Suddenly, he froze, forcing the others to stop as well so that they won't leave him behind.

"What is it?" James whispered, his eyes tracking Teddy.

"Hey, all of you see Teddy walking along the hallway, right?" Sirius asked in a strange voice.

The others glanced at him curiously. "Yeah, why?"

"He isn't on the Map."

* * *

><p>Teddy rubbed his eyes blearily as he moved down the hallway towards the seventh-floor corridor. He had lost track of time last night and ended up returning to the dorms way past curfew. Fortunately, he hadn't met anyone on his way back but he definitely heard some disapproving sounds from the portraits along the way. A few looked at him with raised eyebrows now. He grinned sheepishly but continued on.<p>

He yawned for the umpteenth time, not noticing a faint rustling of cloth behind him.

* * *

><p>The Marauders stared at Sirius. "He can't possibly not be on the Map. Even Nick is on the Map!"<p>

"Well, I definitely don't see him."

"So it's a glitch?"

"Absolutely no way. It has always worked perfectly fine."

"Then how do you explain this? The Map never lies."

"So Teddy doesn't exist?" Peter reasoned.

"Obviously, he does," Sirius said with an eye-roll.

"If it isn't a glitch and Teddy exists... Why isn't he showing? Surely it isn't D-Dark Magic?" Peter squeaked.

"Teddy, a Dark Wizard?" James's expression was extremely sceptical.

"Death Eaters don't exactly go around with a sign saying 'I'm evil', either. But I have to agree with James," Remus said.

They looked at each other. "So why?"

"I don't know. But I plan to find out," Sirius said with determination. "Let's go."

They started moving again, running to catch up with Teddy.

Remus followed them, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Could it be?

* * *

><p>"A time turner that can bring me and Lily safely through years..." Teddy murmured under his breath as he paced, watched curiously by Barnabas and several trolls. He had decided to try out another method.<p>

As always, a door appeared after the third time. His heart thumping erratically, he reached out to grasp the handle and push the door open.

* * *

><p>The Marauders watched as Teddy walked through the doorway of a room that they had never seen before and shut the door behind him. It immediately vanished. They gaped.<p>

"Was that a secret passage? How come we never found it before?" Peter managed with a gasp.

James pulled the Cloak off them when it was confirmed that Teddy wasn't coming out any time soon. Sirius stretched, thankful to get out of that cramped space. The friends then looked at each other, at a loss.

"It doesn't show on the Map, either. I thought that we charmed it well enough that all areas in Hogwarts would appear," James narrowed his eyes at the Map, as if it was the paper's fault.

"It's probably Unplottable," Remus explained.

"What's that?" Peter asked blankly.

"Oh, like my parent's house."

"Yes," Remus continued, "It is magically concealed from plain sight and removed from maps. That's why it doesn't appear on the Marauder's Map."

"So how did Teddy find out about it?" James wondered, looking suspicious. "He only came to Hogwarts at the start of this year."

Remus hesitated for a moment. He didn't have any concrete proof, after all. But Sirius noticed his thoughtful expression.

"What is it, Moony?"

"Remember when we said that Teddy doesn't exist?" he started but was cut off by James.

"But that was just Wormtail not thinking."

"Well, yes, but think about this. What if he isn't _supposed_ to exist? Not in this time, I mean."

The other three looked blankly at him. "Mind putting that in English?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "I'm saying that Teddy may be a time traveller."

"But time travel isn't possible!"

"That's now. It may not be so in the future. Even in this time, we have theories on time travel. I saw Teddy reading a book on the subject recently. And he seems to know a lot about things that he shouldn't."

The boys fell silent, contemplating the possibility.

The slight creak warned them of a door being opened. Almost on reflex, James swung the Cloak over himself and Sirius dove under it, but the other two weren't fast enough. Teddy froze in the doorway leading to the Unplottable room. Over his shoulder, Remus could see rows and rows of hourglasses sitting neatly on wooden shelves before the door swung close and vanished.

Realizing that their cover had been blown, James and Sirius emerged from under the Invisibility Cloak, making Teddy jump slightly. But by he way he looked at the silvery material in James' hands, he wasn't surprised that they had it.

Remus decided to cut to the chase. "What were you doing in there?" he said, his gaze meeting Teddy's steadily. Teddy's eyes flashed grey for a moment. Remus inhaled sharply. That colour was familiar but before he could place where he had seen it before, his eyes flickered to blue for a second before reverting back to the brown that they had grown used to. A shade of brown that wasn't completely unfamiliar either, he realized.

"Don't try to make up any stories," he continued when Teddy didn't speak. "Just tell us the truth."

* * *

><p>When Teddy had entered the Room of Requirement, he had been stunned by the seemingly endless rows of time turners filling the room. Some were simple in appearance, others had various complicated knobs. He sighed. Looks like he still needed to do research beforehand. Operating any time turner without prior knowledge of its basic working theory would be idiocy bordering on suicidal.<p>

Knowing that it would be useless to just look over the time turners available in the room, he retracted his steps to the entrance. "Time turners with manuals would be nice," he decided. That would be his new requirement of the room. But when he had been turning the doorknob, he hadn't expected to be facing his father a few seconds later. For a moment, he couldn't move. He couldn't even breathe as he met Remus' brown eyes.

"Just tell us the truth," Remus said.

Teddy took a deep breath to calm himself. He knew that his appearance was likely morphing erratically, a common result of his nervousness. He clenched his fists in his robes and made a decision to trust these four men.

"I'm looking for a way to return to the future."

* * *

><p><em><strong>I'm sorry for the cliff-hanger! Especially since I need to inform all of you readers that my update rate will be somewhat erratic from now on until around mid-December. I'm going to be sitting for a major examination next month, so I'm not sure how often I can work on this story. I'll do my best, though, and I promise to make it up to you all after it's over! Thank you for understanding! :)<strong>_

_**PS- I'm so obsessed with K-Pop now. Any Super Junior fans out there? A-Cha is love. (Unfortunately for this story, it is also highly distracting. Sorry Sorry~! *grins*)**_

_**Please review!**_


	8. No Turning Back

_**I'm back! (does a jig) Are you happy to see me? (grins)**_

_**Here's the chapter that you've all been waiting for! I hope that you enjoy reading it! Just to refresh your memories after the break...**_

_Previously:_

_"Just tell us the truth," Remus said._

_Teddy took a deep breath to calm himself. He knew that his appearance was likely morphing erratically, a common result of his nervousness. He clenched his fists in his robes and made a decision to trust these four men._

_"I'm looking for a way to return to the future."_

* * *

><p>"I'm from the future."<p>

Stunned silence met his statement. Teddy waited for them to digest the information.

"Why should we believe you?"

Teddy looked over at Sirius, who was regarding him suspiciously, his arms crossed. Teddy realized that despite Sirius' devil-may-cry attitude in general, he was probably the least trusting of the four friends.

"You hate your family with their pure-blood mania. When you were sixteen, you left home and went to stay with James' family."

Sirius was unconvinced. "Anyone could have told you that."

Teddy racked his brain for other things that Harry had told him about. He suddenly remembered an event that only few people knew of. He felt bad about bringing it up, but there was nothing else that he could think of.

"In your fifth year..." he said quietly, "You told Severus Snape how to get past the Whomping Willow during the full moon." He didn't have to say any more. "Sorry."

Sirius' face had drained of all colour. The other three looked pained.

"I think that was enough proof," James said, changing the topic.

"Can we continue this conversation somewhere else? It won't be good if we're overheard," Teddy put in quickly.

"What about the room that you just came out of?" suggested Remus. That immediately piqued the Marauders' interest.

"Alright." Teddy started pacing in front of the wall section. The four watched him, burning with curiosity. Teddy ignored the stares focusing on the Room. 'A comfortable room where we can talk without being overheard. No one can enter while we're inside.'

When the door appeared, he yanked it open to find several couches arranged in the middle of the room. Teddy could see no windows but sunlight filled the room and the air was nice and cool. He stepped in and the others followed suit. The door was closed and Teddy turned to face his friends. "I'll do my best to answer your questions but I cannot tell you too much about the future. Please understand."

The Marauders nodded, settling on two of the large couches. Teddy dropped into a one-seater.

"Well, how about you start with how you ended up in this time?"

* * *

><p>Lily Evans walked leisurely across the grounds towards the lake, a book tucked under her arm. Finally, she had some time to do some quiet reading. The boys were nowhere to be seen. Even Lily Luna had disappeared. Lily supposed that she was with her brother. Or not.<p>

Lily Evans stared at the two figures relaxing by the water. She even raised a hand to rub her eyes but the scene didn't change. The duo were attracting stares from the other students present.

Lily Luna's tinkling laugh could be heard as she kicked at the water with her bare feet. She turned and said something to the person at her side. A piece of bread was taken out of a paper bag. With a swish of a wand, the bread was soon weaving around in the air above the lake. Lily Luna watched in fascination as a long tentacle shot out of the water and easily caught the flying bread. The Giant Squid then retreated back into the depths with its snack. Lily Luna giggled. Severus Snape looked at the little girl and smiled gently. Lily Evans could have sworn that she heard several jaws hit the floor. She could understand. She hadn't seen him smile in years.

Lily decided to return to the castle. Perhaps she could study in the library. At the moment, she wanted to lezve before either of them noticed her. She didn't want to spoil that happy moment.

As she turned, she thought of Severus' smile. Her heart hut a little as she remembered the little boy who had blurted out that she was a witch back when she didn't know anything about magic. When life wasn't complicated. But there was no point in longing for the past. Time was one thing that couldn't be turned back, no matter how much she wanted it. Anyway, she was happy now, wasn't she?

* * *

><p>Of course he saw her. He always knew when she walked into a room. The moment he had turned to smile at Lily Luna, he had noticed her standing there. And he had to tell himself not to look. When she turned and left, his heart constricted. He watched her move further away from him and disappear from his sight. Just like how she had left his side and forever out of his reach.<p>

A small hand touched his arm. He looked down, startled. He had forgotten that Lily Luna was still there. Lily Luna stared at him with warm brown eyes. This is not my Lily, he told himself.

"You love her, don't you?" she asked solemnly.

He hadn't expected that and looked at her incredulously. Was he so painfully obvious? He settled for a snarky reply. "What does a child like you know about love?"

"I know that Daddy loves Mummy and Mummy loves Daddy. Grandpa loves Grandma. And you love her too."

He sat there, stunned by her simple logic.

"Daddy said that it's a beautiful thing to love."

Severus was silent as he looked at her. "You're a strange kid, you know."

Lily Luna just smiled.

* * *

><p>"So..." Sirius said casually after Teddy had finished giving them the basic idea of his predicament. "Do you know us in the future?"<p>

Teddy sighed. He knew that one of them would ask about the future sooner or later. Luckily, he could answer this semi-truthfully. "You're all rather before my time, actually."

"Do people know about us? Are we famous or anything?"

"Well," Teddy said with a rueful grin, "You're in the history books."

James and Sirius glanced at each other. "Cool!"

Suddenly, Teddy felt helpless. He was here, in prime condition to save these men, yet there was absolutely nothing he could do. He couldn't risk jeopardizing the future by revealing anything.

"What did we do?" Remus asked, looking at him shrewdly. To be written down in history was no mean feat. Remus knew that there had to be something big that happened.

"I'm sorry but I cannot tell you that." Teddy looked away, hoping that Remus wouldn't see the conflicting emotions in his eyes.

"I suppose that any questions about what happens in the future won't be answered either," Remus said with a small smile.

Teddy shook his head. "No matter how much I want to, it's just too dangerous."

"How were you planning to get back?" James asked. "We want to help."

* * *

><p>One thing that they had realized when they once again entered the Room after their talk was that the Room didn't make things easy for its users. Rows and rows of books lined one side of the room, while the other was filled with hundreds of timeturners arranged on wooden shelves. It was going to take a long time to find what they needed. They split up to browse through the books. Teddy wished that he could just Google it. If only the magical world had created a network like the Muggles had. And that it would work in Hogwarts. But then there was no use hoping for something that didn't exist.<p>

"How about this one?" Remus asked after a while. The boys peeked over his shoulder to look at the book he was holding. "Turn the time setting to minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or even years! Every 360 degrees rotation will bring you backwards or forwards in time by one unit," he read aloud. He flipped the page. "There's an illustration of it, too."

"Great! Now all we have to do it find it!" Simultaneously, they looked over to the timeturners adorning the opposite wall. "Easier said than done..."

"Well, then. If we're going to find it today, we better start right away," announced Sirius, heading towards the shelves.

"Let's do it!" the rest said, fired up.

* * *

><p>In the evening, Teddy and the Marauders stumbled into the Gryffindor common room to find Lily Luna sitting in the older Lily's lap. The seventh-year was reading a story to her. They looked up as the boys approached.<p>

"Teddy! Lily is reading the tales of Beedle the Bard to me!" Lily Luna said cheerfully, hopping down to hug Teddy's waist.

Teddy ruffled her hair. "That's nice." He crouched down to put himself at her eye-level. "Lily, would you like to go home?"

Lily Luna stared at him with large eyes. "Home?"

"Yeah. We can go home, Lils." He cursed his eyes for filling with tears. "We're going back on Monday morning." Actually, they could leave at any time they wanted, but he didn't want to rush her. It was Saturday, so that would leave them with one full day to say their goodbyes.

"Teddy?"

He looked up and found Lily Evans looking at him, curiosity and some worry in her eyes. Several other Gryffindors had stopped their activities and were looking his way. He quickly thought up a cover story.

"Sorry, it's just like our aunt's leg has recovered now, so Lily will be going back to stay with her."

Alice came over to rest a hand on Lily Luna's head. "We'll miss you, Lily."

Lily Luna hugged her tightly, her eyes getting wet. As much as she missed her parents, she had also formed an attachment to the Gryffindors who treated her like their little sister.

"It's good that Lily will be living with your aunt. But what about you? You'll be coming back for the rest of the school year, wouldn't you?" Lily Evans asked Teddy.

Teddy looked uncomfortable. "Actually, my aunt was planning to migrate to America but the broken leg made it hard for her to move. I'll probably go with her and enrol in the school there."

A chorus of 'What?'s could be heard. Most of them had grown fond of both Teddy and Lily.

The Marauders sat in the corner, quiet. After all, they had known that Teddy would be leaving. They knew of the real reason, too. But that didn't make it more easy to accept. Teddy had become their friend.

"Sorry for springing it onto you all so suddenly," Teddy said, looking at the ground. He refused to think about what going home meant. He would probably break down there and then.

Lily Evans put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll help Lily with her stuff."

Teddy smiled tremulously and tried not to remember that he was looking at the face of a woman who would give her life to save her son in less than five years. "Thanks. I think I'll start packing now."

He quickly left for his dorm room. The room that he shared with four dead people.

* * *

><p>Teddy went to see Dumbledore the next morning. The professor nodded and assured Teddy that he would make sure that no one questioned his sudden disappearance.<p>

Teddy bowed respectfully. "Thank you, sir."

After Teddy had left the office, Dumbledore remained in his seat and gazed thoughtfully at the closed door. "No, it is I who should be thanking you, young Mr. Lupin. You have given me hope in these dark times that one day, all will end well."

* * *

><p>"You're leaving?"<p>

Lily Luna nodded. Severus was forcefully reminded of the sight of Lily walking further and further away from him. He sneered. They always left in the end. No one in their right mind would want to stay with Severus Snape.

He was startled when Lily Luna wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'll miss you lot. But we'll meet again in the future, so you must wait, okay?"

"How can you be so sure? You probably won't even remember me," he said sharply.

"We will," Lily said in a determined tone. "I know we will." She let go of him and looked into his eyes. "Daddy says you are a very brave man. I believe him and I believe you. So you must believe me too." She held his hand tightly in both of hers.

"I'll keep you to that promise, Lily Luna."

* * *

><p>Teddy was finishing up his packing when his room mates burst in and dragged him down to the common room. "Wha-?"<p>

"Surprise!"

Teddy could only gape at the students gathered there. A large banner adorned the opposite wall, bearing the words 'We'll Miss You!'. It soon changed to 'Best of Wishes!'.

"It's a party that we arranged for you and Lily," James told him.

Teddy could feel his eyes welling with tears and everyone crowded around him. "I... Thank you so much!"

Teddy lost count of how many time he was hugged, clapped on the back or toasted that evening. But he knew one thing for sure. He would cherish this memory for the rest of his life.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Teddy shrunk his and Lily's trunks before heading down for breakfast. He planned to leave when everyone was in class. Tearful goodbyes were exchanged as the students rose to leave for the classrooms.<p>

Teddy wondered if anyone noticed that he hugged Remus a little longer than the others.

They parted ways in the hallway. Lily Luna suddenly remembered something and ran back to tug at the back of James and Lily's clothes. The couple bent down and Lily Luna kissed them on the cheek. "Bye, Grandpa, Grandma!" she chirped before running back to Teddy. They disappeared round the corner.

"Huh?" Lily Evans had questions in her eyes while James just gaped. The Marauders snickered.

"I'm too young to be a grandparent!" James wailed finally.

* * *

><p>Teddy brought Lily to the room containing the timeturners. Previously, the boys had found themselves unable to take the timeturner they had found out of the Room. It was just as well, Teddy decided. The Room was one place that they could be assured of absolute privacy when they activated the timeturner.<p>

He picked up the timeturner that they had selected the day before. Squatting down, he looped the chain around his and Lily's necks, instructing the little girl to hold on to him tightly. He fiddled with the knobs according to the instructions, and then started to turn the hourglass. They disappeared.

* * *

><p><strong><em>And we have finished the first arc! That's right, there's more! So stay tuned!<em>**

**_Meanwhile, don't forget to review! I really love reviews. ^_^_**


	9. Family

_**Sorry for not updating for so long! Here's the latest chapter! New arc!**_

_**Merry Christmas! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**_

* * *

><p>The world spun around them before finally solidifying. Teddy didn't know where he was expecting to turn up, but this place was definitely not what he had envisioned. As he looked at the piles of junk scattered around the room, a very bad feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.<p>

Yells in the distance further cemented his suspicions. Sounds of duelling could be heard.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Daddy?" Lily Luna started towards the voice but Teddy caught hold of her. His mind was whirring and he swore his heart was about to jump out of his chest. They had to get out of here! But how?

"We can't meet Daddy yet, Lily. Come on," he once again looped the chain over her head and turned the timeturner backwards. His first concern was to get them out of this time. Even if it meant going back in time.

They vanished just as the room began to fill with Fiendfyre.

* * *

><p>They reappeared in an empty room. A wooden door created a sharp contrast to the white-washed walls of the room. After his heartbeat returned to a normal rate, he took Lily's hand and headed for the door. The timeturner vanished the moment they stepped out of the room.<p>

The door opened into the sixth-floor corridor, opposite the painting of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls ballet. There was no one about. Teddy breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, this was a safe time. Well, as safe as it could be with Voldemort still about, anyway. But this was Hogwarts.

"Teddy? Are we home?" Lily pulled at his clothes. He was still wearing his school robes, so he would probably be able to blend in if they met any students. Lily's presence would definitely give rise to curiosity, though. It was best if they got to the Headmaster's Office without anyone noticing.

"Sorry, Lils, but you'll have to wait a bit longer," Teddy said, reaching out to give her a hug as her face fell.

He had spun the timeturner backwards two times, so they had probably ended up in 1995. Dumbledore was still Headmaster. Teddy hoped that Dumbledore would be able to help them this time. The Room of Requirement wasn't likely to be of much use to them any more.

They arrived in front of the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance. They had met no one on the way. In fact, the castle seemed empty. It was probably the holidays, Teddy realized. He suddenly felt some doubt. Would Dumbledore be in his office? If not, how were they going to contact him?

Then, of course, there was the matter of getting into the office first.

"Fizzing Whizzbees?" Nope.

"Ice Mice. Peppermint Toad. Sugar Quills. Toffee." Still no response. Would the entrance even open if Dumbledore wasn't in?

Trying to guess the password didn't seem like a practical idea. Still what other choices did they have? Apparation could not be done on Hogwarts grounds. Anyway, there was Lily to think of. Teddy wasn't about to try Side-Along Apparation for the first time, even if they walked to Hogsmeade. The only other option was... the Floo! But where would he find Floo powder?

He looked around him. The professors' offices would probably have some and be connected to the Network. If this was the end-of-term holiday, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor's office was likely unoccupied. If they were lucky, there wouldn't be any strong charms protecting the door. It was their best bet, at any rate.

Teddy quickly moved to the DADA classroom, which was conveniently also on the third floor. He had seen his Professor walking down a staircase after class. By the looks of it, it led to the office on the second floor. As far as he knew, the layout of the castle hadn't changed too much through the years. No major changes had been done to this part of the castle during the renovation after the Battle, at least.

As expected, he found a locked door at the bottom of the staircase. Whipping out his wand, he started tapping the lock and muttering incantations. After a couple of minutes of prodding, the lock sprang open with a click. Delighted, he opened the door and waved Lily, who had been waiting on the steps, to follow him.

He found a small box of glittering green powder over the fireplace. He threw a little into the fireplace and it burst into emerald green flames. He picked Lily Luna up.

"Hold on tight," he told her. She complied obediently, burying his face in his shoulder.

His heart once again pounding painfully against his ribcage, Teddy stepped to the flames. He hoped fervently that he wasn't sending them into further danger.

"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!"

* * *

><p>The Order of the Phoenix was having a meeting when the fireplace lit up with emerald green flames without warning. By the time the spinning figure deposited himself in the room, half the Order was already pointing their wands at him.<p>

Teddy looked up to see a dozen wands pointed at him. "Bloody hell."

He pushed Lily under the table as he ducked a Stunning Spell sent his way. One moment later, he was hanging upside down. Well, shit. The Order of the Phoenix was glaring at him suspiciously.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" a voice demanded sharply. Teddy recognized Sirius Black, twenty years older than when he had last seen him, no more than an hour ago. He opened his mouth to reply.

"I believe," Dumbledore cut in calmly, "that you are currently attacking Mr Harrison."

Lily Luna chose that moment to pop up from under the table. "Hey, don't bully Teddy! It's not nice."

Everyone, except for Dumbledore whose eyes twinkled and Teddy who was still hanging by his ankles, gaped at her.

"However, we shall naturally require some proof to be entirely sure. Mr Harrison, will you consent to a mind-read? By myself, of course."

Teddy nodded the best he could from his position. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at someone behind Teddy. "Severus, if you would be so kind?"

Teddy felt himself being lowered. Dumbledore approached him. "Look into my eyes, Mr Harrison. Legilimens."

Dumbledore was looking through the memories again, mostly selecting the same ones from the previous time. After a moment, Dumbledore nodded. "He will do us no harm."

While this was going on, Lily Luna spotted Severus.

"Sev!" she cried happily, running over to hug his leg. She gazed up at him and gave him a bright smile. To the shock of the watching members of the Order of the Phoenix, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. He looked almost gentle.

Severus could hardly believe it. Why were they here? How could they be here? Lily Luna had left Hogwarts with her brother twenty years ago. Yet here she was, looking as if she hadn't aged a day. It was impossible, unless... Unless she travelled through time. So that was it, he realized.

Sirius moved around the table to stand by Teddy, Remus close on his heels. "Teddy? What are you going here? Is this your time?"

"Well, let's just say our plan had a major loophole that I hadn't considered but let's just leave it at that." Teddy kept his eyes firmly on Sirius. Don't look at Remus, he told himself. Seeing him at that age, only two years away from his death, was too painful. But then, Sirius wasn't much better. Gone in less than a year's time. He tried not to think of the fact that James had been dead for more than a decade.

Finding himself close to tears, he cast his eyes around the room, but almost half were people he had never met before. He settled on Mr and Mrs Weasley, only to find them staring back at him.

"Albus, what is going on? Who are these children?" Arthur asked, voicing the questions in many a mind.

Lily Luna, who had been chattering cheerfully to Severus, turned in his direction. Teddy's eyes widened and he moved to stop her, but he wasn't fast enough.

"Grandpa, Granma!" Lily bounced over to Arthur and climbed onto his lap. "You won't believe where I've been..." Arthur looked overwhelmed, as did Molly, who was sitting beside him.

Teddy resisted an urge to crawl into a hole and never be seen again.

"Well, that answers some questions, doesn't it?" he said with a sigh as everyone looked at him for clarification. "We're from the future. And yes, she's your granddaughter."

"Oh, she's so cute. She looks just like Ginny did at her age," Molly cooed. Lily Luna giggled.

"So you're related to the Weasleys too?" Sirius asked curiously. "You said before that you are Lily's brother."

Teddy shook his head. "I'm just a family friend, actually..."

"Oh, I think I remember you two!" Someone suddenly burst out. Teddy looked up to see Tonks suddenly get up from her chair and moved towards him. "You're a Metamorphmagus, just like me."

Many pairs of eyes focused on him again as he nodded rather nervously.

Then Tonks caught her foot on a chair leg and toppled over. Teddy caught her just in time.

"Sorry about that," Tonks said sheepishly.

Teddy's breath caught in his throat. When he had met her in the past, he had managed to ignore the feeling. Now that she was no longer a child but a young woman, the truth was much closer to the surface. This was his _mother_. The mother that he had never gotten to know.

He took a deep ragged breath.

His eyes moved to Remus, who was looking at him in concern; Sirius, who was so changed from the young man he had known; Severus, who was looking wistfully at Lily Luna; and finally at Dumbledore, who met his gaze with a knowing look. All of them would die in less than five years.

A warm hand that reached out to touch his cheek startled him. He looked at Tonks, who was gently wiping away his tears. He hadn't even realized that he had started crying.

"You've been staying strong for Lily, haven't you? You're safe here, we'll do everything we can help you to return home. You're not alone any more." Her smile was so beautiful.

Teddy felt all his suppressed feeling bubble to the surface. He rested his forehead on her shoulder and let the tears fall. She said nothing, simply running her hand soothingly down his back.

When his sobs had subsided, Teddy finally raised his head and hastily stepped back. "I'm sorry, I..." he mumbled as he rubbed at his eyes.

Tonks took his hands in hers and shook her head. "It's fine." She held that position for a while, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as she fell into deep thought. Suddenly she blurted out, "You're mine, aren't you?"

All the occupants of the room turned at gape at her. Teddy was frozen in shock.

"I know it's weird and anyway you probably don't want to reveal too much about the future and such but I just have this feeling... Maybe it's female intuition or something and..."

"Yeah." There. He said it. He knew that it was dangerous to tell them about the future. Yet there was a part of him that overcame common sense. He needed this. Needed to know what it is like to know his parents, to be loved by his parents. Harry and Ginny and his grandmother did their best to show him that he was loved, but it simply wasn't quite the same.

Tonks' eyes went wide and round at first but soon her face split into a bright smile. She drew him in for a quick hug before pulling him to a pair of chairs. Somehow, she almost tripped again but her grip on Teddy's arm kept her from falling. Teddy smiled fondly as she blushed and apologized. They finally settled safely on two of the chairs.

"So! Tell me more about yourself!" she started cheerfully. "Just simple things like what you like to eat, your hobbies, your love life..."

"Mum!" Teddy couldn't help protesting at the last part. It felt strange, to be calling a living person 'Mum', but at the same time a sweet happiness settled in his heart.

"So there _is_ a girl, isn't there?" Tonks exclaimed, grinning at him. Teddy turned pink. Literally. Even his hair changed into a bright shade of pink.

"Mum..." he whined. He felt like saying the word over and over again.

She laughed. "Fine, I won't tease you." She caught sight of Sirius making his way to their side and apparently something struck her. A mischievous grin formed on her face. "Hey, if Teddy is my son, that would make you his Grand-uncle Sirius!" She stopped laughing when Sirius didn't respond. "...Sirius?"

There was a grim expression of Sirius' face as he looked at Teddy. Teddy swallowed nervously. He could guess what Sirius was thinking about.

"You knew that James and Lily were going to die, didn't you?"

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><p><em><strong>I'm sorry! Not updating for so long, and ending this chapter with a cliffhanger to boot! I hope you liked this chapter. The thing is, the original draft of this chapter was super depressing to the extent it killed off my muse. So I decided to scrap that part and start over. Hopefully, it turned out okay. What do you think? Please review!<strong>_

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><p><strong>Here's a Christmas gift for you! Bonus scene! Christmas at the Potter Household...<strong>

Lily Luna was sleeping, warmly snuggled up under the covers. Or maybe she wasn't sleeping, for she sat up immediately when a loud creak was heard from outside her room.

She jumped off the bed and ran out into the hallway, pouncing on her brothers who were waiting outside.

"It's Christmas!" she cheered.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Lils," Al said with a grin.

"Come on, let's go wake Mum and Dad!" James said impatiently, pushing his two younger siblings down the hallway. He didn't need to remind them twice. They dashed towards their parents' room.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" they shrieked as they burst in, jumping onto the bed.

There was a scuffle. Before they knew it, James and Al found themselves tucked under one of their father's arms each. They flailed, trying to reach the floor but Harry had a firm grip on their waists.

"I caught two elves!" Harry said cheerfully. "How about you, Ginny?"

Lily Luna giggled madly as Ginny wrapped her arms around her and kissed her on the nose. "One here!"

"We're all set then! Let's go down and open the presents!" He let the boys go.

The children cheered. Harry and Ginny smiled fondly as the three ran downstairs. Harry put his arms around his wife's waist and kissed her. "Merry Christmas, Ginny."

"Hmm, Merry Christmas. But shouldn't we go downstairs before the children break something?"

Harry didn't let go. "Don't worry, I called a babysitter over. We can have some time for ourselves." He grinned before leaning in to kiss her again.

Meanwhile, downstairs...

"Hohoho, Merry Christmas!"

The three Potter children gaped at the Santa standing in their living room, complete with fluffy white moustache and hair.

James recovered first and went up to tug at the beard. He gave it a particularly vicious yank. "Hey, it's real!" he told his younger siblings, his eyes dancing.

The beard disappeared. Teddy scowled and rubbed at his sore chin. "Of course it's real, you little rascal."

"Teddy!" The boy bent down and obliged Lily by picking her up. "Merry Christmas!" She gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Lily."

Harry and Ginny came down at that moment. They hugged him warmly. Before he left, they made him promise that he and his grandmother would join them for dinner later, which he readily agreed.

After all, Christmas was meant to be spent with family. For Teddy Lupin, Christmas was a happy occasion. Because Teddy had family.

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><p><strong><em>I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review please!<em>**


	10. Our Loved Ones

_**Tenth chapter! Yay!**_

_**I'm so sorry for leaving all of you just hanging like that! You see, I just started college and it's totally hectic. I'm taking Literature In English for A-Levels, and there's like at least one critical analysis (minimum one typed out page) everyday. And that's only one subject. To sum it up, college is seriously hectic.**_

_**But I've finally completed this chapter! Hope that you enjoy it!**_

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><p>"You knew that James and Lily were going to die, didn't you?"<p>

Someone gasped. Teddy could feel everyone's attention focusing on the two of them. Teddy made himself meet Sirius' gaze. "Yes."

Sirius' hands balled into fists at his sides. His voice shook as he struggled to control his overwhelming feelings. "You let them die."

Teddy felt a spark of anger. "What would you have me do? Just say, oh, you're going to be betrayed by one of your closest friends?"

"You should have told us! We could have changed things-"

"Into what?" Teddy snapped back. "A world where Voldemort was never defeated? A world that didn't have thirteen years of peace, free from his reign? Do you think that it would be better? There would be no world left to live in!" He took a deep breath and continued in a softer voice. "Call me selfish for wanting to protect my time, but I wouldn't change it for the world. My generation grew up without fear of Voldemort. To us, he's nothing but a shadow of the past, a figure in the history books. We have peace, Sirius. Harry made sure of that. You would be proud of him."

"Harry... Harry defeated Voldemort? He survived?" Sirius grasped Teddy's shoulders, his eyes desperately searching for answers.

"He survived. And he's happy."

Sirius stared at him for a few more moments before deciding that Teddy was telling the truth. He sighed. "Why do you bloody have to be right all the time? You're just like Moony," he grumbled half-heartedly. He was trying to lighten the atmosphere to take his mind of sorrow, but his words had a different effect on Teddy.

Teddy paled and hoped that no one noticed. But of course someone did. Teddy felt someone's gaze on him and glanced over to meet eyes with Remus. He looked away quickly but he knew that it was useless. In that brief glance, Remus' eyes had told him what he had feared. He knew.

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><p>Lily Luna sat on Severus' lap and wrapped her arms around his waist sleepily. She was getting tired, as shown by how she muffled a yawn and slowly closed her eyes. Soon, she was dozing lightly, her head against his chest. Severus felt a burst of tenderness fill his heart as he watched the sleeping little girl. He reached out a hand to softly touch her head, smoothing down her red hair.<p>

'Oh, Lily, my love...' he reminisced wistfully in his mind. 'If only you had accepted me, this little girl could have been our daughter.'

The child was truly like Lily when she was young.

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><p>Not too far away, a pair of eyes looked at them in irritation. "Why is little Lily-bud so attached to Snivellus? Isn't she Harry's kid?" Sirius grumbled wrathfully.<p>

"Harry brought her to see his p- I mean, him and apparently they hit off really well. Then there was the time in the past..." Teddy paused as Sirius' statement registered. "Wait, how do you know that Lily is Harry's daughter?"

Sirius had to grin at that. "Before you guys left, the kid ran back to say goodbye to 'Grandpa' and 'Grandma'. James and Lily only have one kid, so who else can Lily be but Harry's?"

Teddy mentally groaned. More and more information was leaking out and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

Dumbledore suddenly stood. "I believe we might as well continue this meeting on a later date. It is almost time for dinner, after all. I will inform all of you about the next meeting through the usual means. Good day." Nodding to the other members, he left. The rest of the Order also got up to leave. Pleasantries were exchanged and soon all that were left in the kitchen were the Weasleys, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Teddy, Severus and Lily.

Lily Luna woke up groggily at the noise and rubbed her eyes. She looked at the people filing out of a room and then turned to Severus. "Are you going off too?"

"Yes, the meeting is over, so I'm going back to my house."

Lily pouted.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, Severus?" Molly asked tentatively.

Severus looked almost tempted but shook his head. "I should be going now." He deposited Lily Luna on her feet and stood.

Lily tuggled at his sleeve. "See you soon?"

He touched her head gently, a half-smile on his face. "Alright." And then he was gone.

Lily moved over to Teddy's side and he pulled her onto his lap. She looked dejected.

The Weasleys gaped at the door where Severus had just left through. Bill shook his head disbelievingly. "That's the first time I've seen him have an expression like that."

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><p>Molly was putting the final touches to dinner when the teenagers entered the kitchen. They were chatting merrily but stopped short when they caught sight of Teddy. Or maybe it was the hair, which was now back to its usual bright turquoise.<p>

"Who are-" Harry started but was cut off by a shriek.

"Daddy!" Lily cried, leaping off Teddy's lap to tackle Harry. Teddy once again resisted the urge to bang his head against the table. Harry looked completely stunned, as did the others who had come in with him.

"Wha- What's going on?" he finally managed.

Teddy sighed. "Harry, meet your daughter, Lily."

The newcomers gaped at him. Bill snickered at their expressions.

"Can someone explain that statement?" Ron asked.

"Simply said, Teddy and Lily are from the future," Tonks contributed. She suddenly had a thought. "In which... All of you probably have lots of children," she added mischievously. The young Weasleys, including Bill, paled considerably. Molly beamed.

"Lily dear," the Weasley matriarch asked with a smile, "do you have many cousins?"

"Lots and lots!" Lily exclaimed excitedly. "There's Tori and Dom and Lucy and Molly and Rose and Hugo and... Oh I've a picture, do you want to see it?" Lily fished a locket out from under her clothes. She flipped it open. And unfolded it vertically. Then horizontally. Again and again until she was holding a large photo of the Weasley family, 2013. Everyone crowded around her.

Teddy hadn't really thought of any problems the photo could present, until Ginny pointed out, "Hey, that's me!"

Oh, crap. He sprang out of his seat and started to squeeze his way through the people, but it was too late.

"Hey, where am I?" Fred asked.

Teddy frantically tried to come up with a plausible reason. "You were busy with work. Promoting your joke shop overseas..."

"I don't believe you," Fred cut in.

Teddy went silent.

"Mum would never take a family photo with even one person missing."

The room slowly went silent as the implication sank in. Teddy couldn't look at any of them.

"Fred dies, doesn't he?" Arthur finally said in a weak voice. Molly muffled a sob. When Teddy didn't answer, he pressed on quietly. "Please tell us, Teddy. We need to know."

Teddy could only nod.

Everyone was crying. Molly sobbed into her hands. Lily went over and wrapped her arms around her waist. Her grandmother knelt down and hugged her tight.

"There are others who die as well, aren't they?" Remus said suddenly.

Teddy turned to look at him and instantly regretted it. There was knowledge there, and overwhelming sadness.

"Why were you in the photo, Teddy?"

Tonks gasped. She had noticed Teddy in the picture, standing next to Harry, but had not seen herself.

Teddy closed his eyes, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I was raised by my grandmother, and by Harry, who know what it is like to grow up without parents." He raised his head and looked Remus in the eye, his eyes watery with tears. "I didn't lie to you, when we were at Hogwarts. I'm not a werewolf."

And suddenly, he was wrapped in his father's embrace, sobbing painfully into his shoulder. A slim pair of arms wrapped themselves around him from behind. His mother rested her cheek against his back. Teddy could feel her tears soaking through his shirt. It felt so warm, so comforting. For the first time, Teddy truly felt that he was home.

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><p><strong><em>(T_T)<em>**

**_I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and that it lived up to your expectations._**

**_Your reviews are so encouraging. Thank you all so much! Please review for this chapter too!_**

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><p><strong>Valentine's Day special<strong>

**A young man stood in front of the front door of a house by the seaside, his hand poised to knock. However, an inch from the wood of the door, he lowered it again. He let out his breath and took a deep breath for what seemed like the hundredth time.**

**His hand went halfway up but ended up straightening the already very neat collar of his shirt. He glanced down at the bouquet of roses in his other hand and took yet another deep breath. This time, he actually managed to knock on the door.**

**He stood there, waiting for the house's occupants (he would much rather the door be opened a certain member of the household instead of any of the other four) to respond. It seemed as if he waited there for an eternity. Finally, the door eased open. And there stood his worst nightmare.**

**Teddy gulped. "How do you do, Mr. Weasley. Erm... Is Victoire in?"**

**Bill Weasley raised an eyebrow. His scarred visage made the effect a thousand times more intimidating to Teddy's frazzled nerves.**

**The two men just stood in the doorway staring at each other until a tinkling laugh was held from inside.**

**"Dun scare ze boy, Bill," Fleur Weasley nee Delacour pulled her husband away from the door. She waved Teddy pass. "Victoire is in ze garden at ze back."**

**Teddy bowed respectfully and thanked her.**

**Fleur watched him go with a smile. "Dun you remember when we were like zem? So young and in love?"**

**Bill only grumbled. Something about if only his girls still believed in cooties. Fleur laughed.**

**Out in the garden, Teddy spotted Victoire standing with her eyes closed, enjoying the sea breeze. He crept up to her but somehow managed to trip over the protruding root of a tree, resulting in him falling face down in front of her. At least he managed to protect the flowers.**

**"You may stand, my subject," Victoire teased.**

**His ears red, Teddy scrambled to his feet and presented the bouquet to her. Victoire accepted it with a sweet smile. "Thank you so much. They're lovely."**

**"Not as lovely as you." Where did that cheesy line come from?**

**Victoire just laughed. She moved closer to peck him on the lips.**

**A cat-call spoiled the mood completely. Victoire glared in the direction of the house as two voices started singing "VICTOIRE AND TEDDY SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"**

**"How old are they, five?" muttered Victoire with an eye-roll. "Ok, you can go away now!" she called back.**

**"No way!" was the reply.**

**Teddy laughed. He smiled at Victoire. "I'll bring you out for dinner tonight. We can have more privacy there."**

**"Sure, meet you at seven, then."**

**Valentine's Day is a day for the celebration of love and happiness. Or, for Charlie Weasley, Single Awareness Day.**


	11. Closest Thing to a Father

_**Don't kill me! (cowers) I'm so sorry for not updating for so long!**_

_**I do hope that you'll enjoy this chapter as much as you did the others! Thank you for being patient and supporting me till now. To new readers, welcome.**_

_**On with the story!**_

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><p>"So, what's for dinner? I'm starving," Fred said with forced cheerfulness. "Is that chicken stew I smell?"<p>

The family gaped at him.

Fred folded his arms across his chest defensively. "If I'm going to die in a couple years, I rather spend my time to the fullest rather than moping. Life is too short for crying."

There was stunned silence for a while. "Well said, Fred," Arthur finally said softly, a hint of pride in his voice.

Molly caught Fred in a tight hug. Letting him go, she wiped away her tears and managed a tremulous smile. She bustled off to set the last few dishes on the table as the others finally settled down.

Lily claimed the seat beside Harry and was chattering happily to him. Harry still looked rather overwhelmed but was starting to smile fondly at her. It was impossible not to be affected by the girl's bubbly personality. Fred, sitting on his other side, was regarding her with interest. He leaned closer to George who was still looking morose and whispered, "Hey, who do you reckon is her mother?"

George blinked and the shadow over his face cleared slightly. He joined his twin in observing the little girl. "Someone we know? Her features remind me of someone but I can't quite put my finger on..."

"Red hair..." "Brown eyes..." "If I didn't know better I'd think she's a Weasley." "Harry was in the family photo." "But Harry's pretty much an honorary Weasley anyway." "But now that you've mentioned it she does look awfully like Ginny did when she was... small..."

Something clicked and the two stared at each other, dumbstruck. Everything fit. "Ginny?" As one, they turned to glare at Harry accusingly. "You knocked up our baby sister!"

"Wha-?" Harry was starting to resemble a fish out of water. Ginny, who heard their conversation, turned bright red.

"You don't have any proof, Harry's mother had red hair..." she protested.

"Actually," Bill said with deceptive nonchalance, "I remember noticing that the Harry in the picture had his arm around Ginny's waist." His eyes, however, told Harry that if he ever hurt his little sister, the consequences wouldn't be pretty. Harry had a sudden vivid image of him being 'accidentally' shut inside a pyramid and never seen again. He gulped nervously.

"Do you have have any siblings, Lily?" George asked.

"Uh-huh." She nodded her head vigorously. "James and Al."

The Weasley boys collectively turned to glare at Harry.

"But I'm Daddy's favourite," Lily added, but was ignored.

"Three kids!" Ron said in a strangled voice.

"Ron! Not you too!" Harry protested.

"Well, you're better than Michael bloody Corner, at least," Ron decided after a moment of thought.

"Ron!" Ginny yelled. "That was unfair."

"And don't swear in front of Lily," Hermione continued crossly.

Lily giggled. Uncle Ron was always being scolded by Mummy and Aunt Mione.

At the other end of the table, Teddy found himself wedged between his parents. Honestly, he had never felt so happy in his life. Tonk beamed at him, though her eyes were still wet.

"Tell us more about yourself! After all, we were interrupted by _Grand-uncle Sirius_ just now," she said. Sirius looked completely horrified at the title.

Teddy couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Sirius' face before turning to his parents. "I'm in Gryffindor. Though the Sorting Hat was seriously pondering Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw as well."

Sirius recovered and looked interested. "Ravenclaw, too? You must take after your father."

"I was prefect in my fifth year and Head Boy this year." A warm feeling blossomed in his heart as Teddy saw his father's face light up with pride. Harry had told him that his father had been a prefect and Teddy had always longed to be able to tell his father about his achievements. Everyone had told him that his parents would have been very proud of him. But actually witnessing it was so much better.

He turned to look at his mother, who was smiling broadly as well. "A lot of people tell me that I take after both of my parents." He changed his hair to match his mother's bubblegum pink. She smiled.

"Grandma says that she sees Mum in me when I try to cheer her up when she's sad. Harry would then tease that he sees Mum in me when I trip over my own feet," he continued with a grin. Tonks laughed.

"So you're close to Harry?" asked Remus, interested.

Teddy nodded. "You named him godfather. He said something about it being thanks for knocking sense into you, but didn't go into details."

"I wonder what that's about?" Tonks said with an amused glance at Remus.

"I'm not sure I want to know."

"I have no idea either, so you'll just have to wait till the moment comes, I suppose."

That sobered them slightly, reminding them of the future to come.

Tonks broke the awkward moment. A mischievous grin was back on her face. "So, Teddy, we were talking about your love life..."

"So you are an Auror, right, Mum?" Teddy hurriedly interrupted.

Tonks had a knowing smile on her face but decided to give in. "Yup! Are you planning to do Auror Training after graduation?"

Teddy nodded vigorously. "I've always wanted to be an Auror."

"I'm sure you'll make a good one," she said encouragingly. "Being a Metamorphmagus gives a huge advantage in Concealment and Disguise, so you should be able to handle that part with no problem at all. Hopefully you'll do better than I did in Stealth and Tracking."

Remus gave a quiet snort. Tonks rolled her eyes. "Fine, so you'll definitely do better than me at Stealth and Tracking. It's hard for anyone not to."

"More like impossible," came a comment from nearby.

"Shut up, Sirius."

Sirius grinned and scooted closer. "I heard you say that Moony made Harry your godfather. What's he like in the future?"

Teddy glanced at his teenage godfather who was having his ear talked off by Lily. He tried not to worry about what she was telling him. By the baffled look on Harry's face, however, it was unlikely that he was absorbing much. "I haven't had the chance to get to know the current Harry, but I suppose the Harry I know is more serious and confident. He has a strong air of responsibility that makes people trust him. At the same time, he can be really fun when he wants to be. He bought me some stuff from the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes for my eleventh birthday. I put those to good use in my first year, I can tell you," he said with a grin.

Sirius gave a bark of laughter and shared an amused look with Remus. "Looks like the second generation Marauders are carrying on the tradition!"

"The third generation is doing very well, too," Teddy informed them, thinking of James Sirius' incorrigible ways.

"Harry's kids?"

"The eldest, at least. Everyone thinks that Harry was just asking for trouble when he named his first-born James Sirius."

"James... Sirius..." Sirius appeared stunned. Remus smiled wistfully.

Teddy would have said more if an agitated female voice hadn't started shouting in the hallway.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DANGEROUS THAT WAS? SO-"

The portrait of Walburga Black started screaming.

"-MANY THINGS COULD HAVE GONE WR - SHUT UP YOU HAG!"

There was a murmur of a deeper voice, drowned out by the screams of the portraits in the hall. The door opened.

"Harry," Teddy whispered almost disbelievingly. He shot out of his chair, heading towards the figure.

Lily beat him to it. "DADDY!" she cried in delight, barrelling into her father's arms. Harry caught her and swung her into a hug. Lily wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Teddy had reached the doorway. Harry turned to look at him, shifting Lily to a more comfortable position in his arms. "Harry, I'm so sorry for dragging Lily into this mess. It's all my fault for not keeping an eye on the timeturner..."

Harry shook his head. "It wasn't your fault. Thank you for taking such good care of Lily, Teddy."

"But..." Teddy was unconvinced.

However, Harry's attention had moved past Teddy to the occupants of the room who were unabashedly gaping at him. "Well, this is nostalgic..." he muttered quietly. He let out a long breath.

A comforting hand on his back calmed him. Harry turned to see Ginny's reassuring smile. He smiled back gratefully. This was hard for her as well, he knew. Seeing all those much missed faces was both painful and heart-warming.

"Ginny?"

The red-haired woman turned when her name was called, coming face to face with her siblings. How strange it was to see them so young again! From the corner of her eye she saw her younger self looking absolutely stunned, but her attention was drawn to one red-head in particular. She blinked quickly, trying to keep back the traitorous tears.

Fred's face broke into a smile. "It really is you. You could have rivalled Mum in volume just now." When Ginny didn't reply for fear of bursting into tears, his smile turned tender and a little sad. "I know, Ginny. I know what's going to happen. I'm sorry for making you sad, little sis."

Ginny was frozen for a while. But when Fred opened his arms, she fell into them without hesitation. They clung to each other, Ginny's face buried in his shoulder, Fred's eyes sparkling with unshed tears. Ginny tightened her hold around her brother as if afraid that he would disappear.

"I missed you, Fred. I missed you so much..."

A little bit away from the crying brother and sister, Teddy looked guiltily at the floor. "Sorry, Harry. I couldn't prevent them from finding out."

"Who else knows?"

"My... my parents. That's all." He still didn't dare meet his godfather in the eyes. A hand on his head, however, made him look up.

"Don't blame yourself, Teddy. You've done well. We're here now."

Teddy stared at him, seeking reassurance. He saw the understanding in Harry's eyes. Teddy gave Harry a quick hug, accidentally squashing Lily Luna who squeaked in surprise. As Teddy pulled away, Harry ruffled his hair affectionately, earning a tremulous smile from his godson. "I'm glad you're here, Harry."

Unnoticed by their parents, the two elder Potter children had sneak into the room and were frankly staring. James wrinkled his nose. "Urgh, why is it so gloomy in here?" Their sharp eyes had also noted the dismal condition of the hallway, such a contrast to the home they knew.

"I heard that it was left empty for a long time before they moved in," Al said reasonably, but James wasn't listening. The red-haired boy was searching his pockets.

"Nope... nope... not this... Aha!" James finally fished out a small tube. His grin turned slightly maniacal. "This room needs some brightening up!"

But before he could activate the indoor fireworks he had gotten from his uncle's joke shop, a hand plucked it from his grasp.

"What is this?" The tone was curious.

The two boys spun to stare at the newcomer.

James gasped and pointed at the man. "You! You are-"

"Boys." Harry's voice cut into the exclamation. "Don't be rude."

"But Dad..." James started to protest but stopped short at the stern look on his father's face.

Behind Harry, Teddy had already taken Lily Luna's hand and was leading her away. He gestured towards the boys to follow him. With a quick look at their father, the two boys quietly left.

Taking a deep breath and putting on a small smile, Harry turned towards the man who had given up his perusal of the joke item and was now looking at Harry with an indescribable expression on his face. "Hello, Sirius."

* * *

><p>Teddy let the three Potter children to a corner of the dining room. He turned to look at the boys, one eyebrow raised. "Well?"<p>

James Sirius crossed his arms defensively. "'Well' what?"

"Why are you and Al here? And don't tell me that your father decided to bring you along, as I clearly heard your mother scolding you just now."

James said nothing, apparently interested in a stain on the floor which he started scuffing with his shoe.

Teddy looked at the younger brother. "Al?"

"James was being an idiot."

James tried to elbow his brother but stopped at a glare from Teddy. He scowled.

"Dad was planning to come get the two of you by himself!" James burst out. "That's so unfair!"

"So you decided to tag along for the ride?"

"Well, it worked, didn't it? I thought that if I grabbed hold of Dad while he was turning the time-turner, he wouldn't have any time to prevent me from following. So when Al and I were peeking at Dad from the door to his office, I made a dash towards him the moment he started spinning the hourglass."

"I tried to stop him but accidentally tripped, causing me to crash straight into James," Al contributed. "Mum was in the study with Dad and she grabbed us a moment before we time-travelled. So we ended up all coming along."

Teddy sighed. "Can't you ever keep out of trouble, James?"

James pretended to think hard for a moment. "No," was his cheeky answer.

* * *

><p>"They look like a family," Tonks said softly. She was watching Teddy chatting with the Potter children.<p>

Remus had seen that too. Teddy appeared to fit in perfectly with the Potter family, a dependable elder brother to the three children. Teddy may be their son by birth but he was also Harry and Ginny's. The Potters had been the ones to raise him, not them. Sadness and happiness warred deep within him. When he looked at Tonks, he knew that she felt the same.

"I'm glad that he grew up with a family." Her eyes were filled with tears, but they were smiling.

"Me too." He turned his gaze back towards his son. His voice came out slightly choked. "Me too."

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><p><em><strong>Please review!<strong>_

_**PS- Have any of you visited the Pottermore website? There's isn't much content for now (only "The Philosopher's Stone"), but it's still awesome. I'm in Ravenclaw! (grins) "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."**_

_**I was seriously tempted to name this chapter "Pottermore" because of the appearance of "More Potters" (get it? haha, sorry for the lameness), but it would have given away too much about the chapter so I didn't.**_


	12. Power of a Name

_**I come in peace. (waves white flag) So do not kill me for the late update.**_

_**My muse is evil. I've been trying to write this chapter for months, and when does it suddenly decide to become active? The night before my AS Econs paper. Curse you, muse. Thankfully I have survived through the Econs exam (fingers crossed), so I managed to complete this chapter today.**_

_**On the bright side, you readers get another chapter! Whee! (dodges flying tomatoes)**_

_**On with the story! Hope you enjoy this update!**_

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><p>"Hello, Sirius."<p>

Godfather and godson stared at each other in silence for a moment, both at a loss for words. Harry opened his mouth to break the awkward silence but was cut off by Sirius engulfing him in a tight hug.

"Harry... You have no idea how much it means to me that you named your son after me and your father. I probably already told you in that future of yours, but I just want to make sure that you know. Thank you."

"Sirius..." Harry closed his eyes and hugged back, relishing the sensation of being loved. Even after so many years, he had not completely gotten over his godfather's death.

When he drew back, Harry's eyes were glistening with unshed tears. His composure had been severely shaken by Sirius' gesture. Harry cursed inwardly. He desperately sought a topic that would draw attention away from himself.

"James, come here for a while," Harry called, proud that his voice didn't shake.

James detached himself from where he had been chatting with the Weasley twins, curiosity evident in his face.

"What is it, Dad?"

Harry ruffled James' hair, an action which James objected to by scowling. Harry chuckled. He put his hands on James' shoulders and turned him towards his godfather. "Sirius, this is James Sirius, my eldest son."

"You forgot 'mischief-maker extraordinaire'," James added cheekily.

Harry gave a wry laugh and gave Sirius a long-suffering look. "He terrifies the professors at Hogwarts, and he isn't even of schooling age yet. Minerva is considering retiring before he enters school next year."

"A boy after my own heart!" Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "So, tell me, James Sirius, what is this contraption here?" He held out the joke item that he had taken from the boy previously. It was curious orb, decorated with a swirl of rainbow colours.

"Return it to me and I'll demonstrate," James said mischievously. Harry let the two to their discussion and took the chance to slip out of the room to recover his composure.

"Ah, but I have a mind to set it off myself. How does it work?"

James stared at him for a moment, stubbornly silent, before suddenly smiling. "Oh, it's really easy. Just pull that string at the end, it'll activate the fuse."

"Hmm, this one?" Sirius gave it a firm yank. "Oh-ho." He looked in fascination as the ball started levitating in mid-air. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw James dive under the table and followed suit. As the fireworks went off with great enthusiasm, he grinned at the boy. "So you conveniently forgot to tell me about the effects of that thing and came to hide here by yourself."

James gave him an innocent look. "Me? I just like hiding under the table, it's a nice place to be."

Sirius laughed. "It's not so easy to trick one of the original Marauders, boy. Remember that before you try to prank me."

"JAMES!" His mother's voice rang through the air over the whizzing of the fireworks and whoops from the twins.

James and Sirius peeked out slightly from under the table to gleefully observe the chaos.

The orb was spitting out what appeared to be balls of sparks of various colours. Said sparks whizzed happily through the room, stopping only when they crashed into something… and promptly turned that unfortunate object the same colour as the firework. Cabinets turned pink, silverware turned orange, a chair turned blue, pots turned purple… And Lily's red hair turned green.

"James!" Lily cried furiously, stomping towards where she could see James and Sirius' heads popping up from under the table.

"He set it off!" James hurriedly pointed at Sirius.

"Sirius!" Lily directed her glare at Sirius, who was quick to push the blame away.

He pointed at James. "He brought it and told me how to set it off!"

James held up his hands. "Erm… You look nice?"

Lily put her hands on her hips and looked between the two troublemakers. Finally she came to a decision on who was more at fault. Or perhaps she decided that Sirius was too big and strong a target, because she tackled James.

The two rolled out from beneath the table, Lily tickling James mercilessly. James attempted to toss Lily off him but she latched onto him with her legs like a leech. The tussle continued in that fashion for quite a while.

Having climbed out from beneath the table, Sirius was doubled over laughter watching the antics of the pair, so were many of the others present.

It was to this scene that Harry re-entered the room. He raised an eyebrow at the fighting siblings and stifled a smile.

"Children." His voice made Lily stop immediately.

James quickly took the chance to push Lily off him. "Oh, my sides are aching…" he moaned.

"Daddy, James made my hair green!" she pouted, pulling at one of the bright green locks.

"It wasn't my fault that the firework hit you!"

"James," Harry said sternly.

James looked down at the floor. "Sorry, Lily."

"It's okay," Lily said generously. "I'm sorry from attacking you too."

James laughed and tousled her hair. "Look on the bright side, you look like Teddy now."

Lily's eyes lit up. "Teddy!" She ran off in the older boy's direction. "Look, look, my hair is green like yours!"

The room rang with laughter at the little girl's irrepressible bubbly reaction.

* * *

><p>Sirius sat down next to Remus, a wistful smile on his face. His old friend gave him a look full of sympathy and understanding. He was experiencing some mixed feelings as well and could relate to the other man.<p>

Sirius sighed, his eyes on the adult Harry who had been accosted by the twins. "It's hard, Moony. When I look at him, I can't help but think, 'So that's what James would have looked like if he hadn't died.'"

"I know what you mean, Sirius… But Harry is not James, no matter how similar they may appear."

"I know that. It's just… We knew from the moment he had Harry that James would be an amazing father. Looking at Harry, I get the same feeling, and I can't help but wish that Harry could have grown up experiencing the love that he is now giving his children. I try to give him as much as I can, but it just isn't the same."

The pair of old friends sat in pensive silence, sharing their renewed grief for their long-lost friend, mourning for what could have been.

Sirius was the one to break the silence. "Say, Moony, do you feel that Harry is acting strangely? The future Harry, that is."

"Strangely? How so?"

Sirius was silent, watching the grown-up Harry talk easily to Arthur. "…No, it's nothing. Forget it."

* * *

><p>The time-travellers were shown their rooms after dinner. The children had been overjoyed when Harry agreed to stay another day. If they had their way, the whole group would be staying in the past for a week. At any rate, all of the Order members who had attended the last meeting had to be present during the memory wipe. And Harry couldn't deprive Teddy of the precious time spent with his parents either.<p>

Harry sat down heavily on the bed, feeling utterly drained. He remained in that position even after Ginny emerged from the bathroom after her shower.

Sitting next to him on the bed, Ginny simply wrapped her arms around her husband, not saying anything. There were no words appropriate for what he was going through, so all she could do was offer him comfort through her presence.

Harry slowly relaxed. With a tired smile, he kissed Ginny lightly on the forehead. "Thanks."

Ginny smiled. "Go on, it's your turn to shower." She gently pushed him towards the bathroom.

As the door clicked closed behind him, Ginny sighed fondly. Despite the years that have passed, Harry was just as stubborn as he had been as a teen. He would never truly expose his emotions to anyone, choosing to hold it to the best of his ability. But at least alone in the bathroom, the tears that run down his face would be indistinguishable from the water.

* * *

><p>Harry woke at dawn the next day. Carefully sliding out of the bed so not to awaken his wife, he freshened up and exited the room. The silence of the house in the early morning was eerie but strangely calming. He decided to go visit Buckbeak in the Hippogriff's room upstairs.<p>

Harry silently walked up the stairs to where the door to the room had been left half ajar. Sounds from within signalled that someone was already in the room. Peering through the gap, he took in the sight of Sirius working at cleaning Buckbeak's feathers. He stood there for a long moment, unnoticed by his busy godfather, simply etching every detail of that long-missed person into memory.

Not wanting to be caught staring, Harry turned to make his way back to downstairs, only to find his younger self standing on the bottom of the stairs watching him. There was suspicion in that face, accompanied by both comprehension and denial. As Harry passed the boy on the staircase, he stalled the expected torrent of questions and demands with a raised hand. The two similar individuals met gazes for a moment. "Don't ask," he said in a voice that was remarkably steady, and continued down the stairway, leaving the younger standing alone in the semi-darkness.

* * *

><p>Dumbledore arrived halfway through breakfast.<p>

He came to an abrupt stop at the sight of the adult Harry. It appeared that the Weasleys had not informed of him of the recent development. "Oh my."

"Good morning, Professor," Harry greeted, rather amused at the old man's shock.

"My dear boy, I'm delighted to see you. I trust that you are well?"

Harry was somewhat impressed at the speed that Dumbledore recovered. "Yes, I'm well."

"Good, good…"

The door opened and Teddy ushered the three yawning Potter children into the room. "'Morning…" He noticed Dumbledore. "Oh, hello, Professor."

"Good morning, Mr Harrison."

Teddy looked sheepish. "It's actually Lupin, sir. Everyone found out yesterday. About Lily too, she's actually Harry's daughter."

"I see. And these two boys?" Dumbledore looked curiously at the pair, immediately noting their resemblance to Harry.

"Are you Professor Dumbledore?" James spoke up daringly, staring curiously at the old man.

"Indeed I am, my boy." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in merriment.

"Do you really have a scar above your left knee that looks like the London Underground?"

The twinkle intensified. "I have to admit that I do, my dear boy. You seem to know some rather interesting details about me, but I'm afraid I do not know who you are."

"Oh, I'm James Potter."

"Well, Mr Potter, I do have that scar but it would be rather inconvenient for me to show you at this moment."

"It's fine. I just wanted confirmation. Rose was so sure that it was painted on. Ha, now she owes me a sickle!" James wandered away in search for breakfast. "Thanks, Professor!" He called back, almost as an afterthought.

Dumbledore chuckled.

Harry rolled his eyes at his eldest's carefree behaviour. He then noticed his younger son hovering uncertainly next to Dumbledore and gave Al an encouraging smile.

"Erm, Professor Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore turned to regard the boy kindly. "And who may you be, my boy?"

"I'm Al, sir."

"It's very nice to meet you, Al."

"I – I mean, my name is Albus Potter, sir."

"…Oh my…" Dumbledore seemed quite at a loss for words.

Watching the exchange from the table, Harry smiled gently.

Suddenly, a drop of moisture slipped from one eye to fall into his beard, followed by another. Soon, tears with cascading down that wrinkled face.

"Are you alright, Professor?" asked Al, somewhat alarmed.

"Do not worry, young Al. I am very well. Very well indeed." He wiped away his tears with a large blue handkerchief. He met Harry's understanding gaze. "All is well."

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><p><em><strong>I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! <strong>_

_**Please review! Feed my muse with comments, readers! It'll make the next chapter come faster. Hopefully. (runs away from tomatoes thrown by readers.)**_

_**Anyway, I love to read about what you think of this story, in particular this latest chapter! So do leave a comment!**_


	13. No Regrets

**_I apologise for the late update. (T_T) Thank you so much for putting up with me._**

**_On a happier note, I'm finally finished with my AS examinations! Woo~_**

**_Going on... Here is the new chapter!_**

**_Enjoy!_**

* * *

><p>There was a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix that afternoon, already in progress and likely to end soon, as it was nearing dinnertime. Harry had previously refused Dumbledore's suggestion that he join the meeting, and was going down for a different reason. There was a specific someone he wanted to meet.<p>

Of the people who he owed his life to, he had yet to see Severus Snape.

The chatter that could be heard as he slowly descended the stairs told him that the meeting had ended. As he reached the ground floor, he looked round at the Order members who were now casting curious glances at him. He smiled back politely, but continued to search for the Potions Professor. A rustling of robes alerted him to the presence of another person exiting the meeting room. Ah, there he was.

The two men stood and stared at each other for a long moment, both of their expressions unreadable. Severus was the one who broke the silence.

"Potter," he sneered.

Harry inclined his head in greeting. "Good afternoon, Professor. May I have a moment? In private."

If the Potions Professor was surprised by the unusually polite greeting or the request, he didn't show it. The two men moved to the deserted drawing room where they would have more privacy.

"I hear that you have formed a friendship with my youngest daughter, Professor."

Severus narrowed his eyes. "If you plan to warn me away from her, you had better save your breath, Potter. It was the girl who attached herself to me."

Harry's lips twitched. "So I hear. That sort of behaviour is very like Lily. I assure you that I have no objects towards the friendship. Did Lily happen to mention anything about her brothers?"

"There are two, I believe. Likely as obnoxious as their father."

Harry diplomatically chose to ignore the second part. "Yes, two boys, James and Al. Al is short for Albus, you see. It is about him that I want to talk to you about."

Severus raised an eyebrow and looked bored. "I haven't even met the boy, Potter. I do not see how the brat may concern me."

"Nevertheless, I hope that you will listen to my story. I'll make it short."

Severus was quite nonplussed by this strangely polite Harry but nodded in consent anyway.

"So, my second son Al… Just after he was born, I pondered over what to name him. I wanted to honour those whom I owe a lot to, you see. I eventually settled on Albus as a first name, but remained undecided for his middle name. Then he opened his eyes, and I knew immediately what my decision would be. He had green eyes like me, the eyes that I had inherited from my mother." Harry's green eyes met Severus'.

"I named him Albus Severus."

A visible shock went through the other man. "Why?" The question was harsh, disbelieving.

"For your sincerity. Towards her, and everything you have done for her sake." They both knew who he was talking about. There could be no doubt about it. Because there had never been anyone else.

His next question was slightly hoarse. "How much do you know?"

Harry met his gaze firmly. "Everything."

* * *

><p>Severus entered the dining room that was now crowded with children instead of Order members, still reeling from the recent conversation with the adult Harry.<p>

"Sev, come sit with us!" His gaze alighted on that mop of red hair that was bobbing up and down, the little girl waving cheerfully at him. He obediently weaved his way towards the empty seat beside her at her call, unable to deny the girl anything. As he got closer, he realised that 'us' consisted of the girl and mini-Potter. Albus Severus, he corrected himself.

When he was within reach, Lily grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him towards the chair between her and her brother. As he sat down, he spotted the boy looking at him rather nervously, as if wanting to speak but not quite daring to.

Gently, he placed a hand on that messy black hair. The hair was still _that man's_, but somehow it didn't matter as much as it used to. Not anymore.

The boy stared up at him with wide eyes. Her eyes.

He allowed a small smile to surface, unseen but for those large green eyes and a pair of equally green eyes watching him from across the room.

Albus Severus, was it?

With the sentiments behind it, one may be inclined to say that it was a good name. Severus would still say that it was a cursed name. The name unknowingly carried the weight of its predecessors' sins, the regrets of the wrong paths taken… And the sincere wish that this boy would never make the same mistakes as those he was named after.

It was a cursed name, but maybe… just maybe… with this child the curse would be broken.

* * *

><p>Teddy paced up and down in his room. He was all dressed to go up, wrapped up warmly in a sweater and jeans. His coat lay over his bed, along with a scarf and hat, ready to be picked up at a moment's notice. He paused, glanced at his watch, and resumed pacing.<p>

Lying stomach down on the bed, James rolled his eyes. "Chill, Teddy. Walking up and down like that isn't about to make the meeting end faster."

"That's mean, James," Lily admonished from the foot of the bed where she was sitting. "Teddy is just looking forward to spending time with his parents."

"Yeah, yeah, Lily. I swear you sound more like Mum every day." James rolled his eyes again.

Al simply sat silently next to Lily, focused on a book.

Teddy stopped his back-and-forth movement across the room and looked at the three Potter siblings. "What in Merlin's name are the three of you doing in my room anyway?"

"Bored." James.

"To keep you company." Lily.

"Lily dragged me here." Al.

Teddy sighed. Why did he put up with this three? Being a big brother was hard. He resumed his pacing.

A low murmur of voices could be heard from below. "I think they're done," James commented idly.

As if on cue, loud footsteps signalled that someone was running up the stairs. Moments later, the door burst open. "Let's go, Teddy!" Tonks' smile could have been made of sunshine. Teddy's answering smile was just as bright.

As the boy was dragged out of the room by his mother, he heard three voices call from the behind him, "Have fun!"

Okay, so there are nice points in being a big brother. But tonight, he wasn't a big brother or a godson, or even a grandson.

They finally reached the bottom of the stairs where the Order members were milling around, preparing to leave. But one figure stood out from the rest, waiting for them by the front door. A large hand reached out to take Teddy's free hand as they left the house together. Remus smiled at him and Teddy grinned back.

Tonight, he was just a son.

* * *

><p>"Ice cream." Tonks announced as they left the restaurant where they had eaten.<p>

Remus and Teddy stared at her in confusion.

"Come on, we're having ice cream for dessert!" she said cheerfully, taking each by the hand and pulling them towards Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. "Nothing wrong with eating ice-cream in the winter," she added as she caught the two sharing an amused look. "Especially if it's Florean's wonderful ice cream. Come on!"

In his time, the ice cream parlour had been replaced with a flower shop. Teddy could faintly remember that one of the names listed as a casualty of the Second Wizarding War was Florean Fortescue. It was rather eerie, really, knowing that so many people were going to die in just two years.

The man in question was jolly and good-natured, welcoming them into the shop with a cheery smile. "Nice you see you, Tonks! Remus is here too! Finally decided to go on a date? About time!"

Teddy noted with amusement that the pair both promptly turned pink. Florean noticed it as well and burst out laughing. Remus and Tonks simply blushed more.

Still chuckling, Florean's attention fell on Teddy. "Now who do we have here? A new face."

Tonks grinned, trying to shake away her embarrassment from the teasing. "This is Teddy, he's part of the family."

"I'm afraid I'm sadly the third wheel in their date, sir," Teddy joked.

"Teddy!" Tonks cried, her face red. Teddy just laughed.

Florean grinned at the exchange. "Free ice cream for the three of you, then! You're my latest lucky customers."

They gratefully took the ice cream and settled down at one of the tables in the parlour. Yet there was a certain shy awkwardness between the two adults now, prompted by Florean's friendly teasing. It was rather cute, really.

You know how some children complain that their parents act like they were still on their first date? This was taking that to the next level, Teddy thought with amusement.

But then again, how many people could say that they witnessed their parents falling in love?

* * *

><p>Harry was hiding. There was no other reason for him to coop himself in his room like he was currently doing. Ginny was helping Molly bake Christmas cookies, the children had probably been roped into helping with decorations, and the Lupins hadn't returned from dinner yet.<p>

A knock on the door signalled that his self-imposed solitude was coming to an end.

When Harry opened the door to be met with the frustrated face of his younger self, he had to forcibly suppress a groan. He should have known that the teen wouldn't let the encounter of the previous day go. He tiredly leaned against the doorframe, waiting for the inevitable confrontation.

"In the future, Sirius is dead, isn't he?" Completely direct, as expected. No tact at all.

"In the future? I daresay in the future you and I are dead as well. Everyone who is alive now would be dead some point in the future, logically speaking." A flippant reply. Stalling tactics.

"Don't screw with me."

Harry's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the teen's abrasive tone, not one bit. Had he really been such a prick in his teenage years?

"It's none of your business what happens in the future."

"In case you have forgotten, Sirius is my godfather! I have the right to know!"

Harry took a deep breath to keep calm. "Look. Even if I tell you what happens in the future, the most important point here is that you won't be able to change anything even if you want to! Time is not something to be messed with, believe me."

"So he really is dead, isn't he?" When Harry chose not to reply, the teen's face flushed in anger. "ALL THIS SHIT WITH BLOODY VOLDEMORT AND DUMBLEDORE IGNORING ME, NOW YOU GUYS SHOW UP AND I FIND OUT THAT IN THE FUTURE SIRIUS IS FREAKING DEAD-"

Drawn by the noise, several heads peered out of their rooms. Harry did not appreciate the audience. He felt his already foul mood take a downward dive.

"AND YOU WON'T TELL ME HOW TO STOP THIS! I BET YOU DIDN'T CARE THAT SIRIUS DIED-"

Someone uttered a gasp as there was a thump and the elder Harry suddenly had his younger self pinned painfully to the floor.

"Just shut your mouth," Harry ground out, his voice a dangerous whisper. "How dare you say that. You have no idea what it's like to lose the most important person in your life and know that it was your fault. Do you think that I don't want Sirius to live? But in the future there is peace, and that peace was the work of many people who sacrificed themselves so that we could defeat Voldemort. I don't know what even a slight change in the timeline will do to that future, but I'm not about to let it be jeopardised by some unthinking, hot-tempered boy."

Looking down from the landing above, Ginny sighed. "Why did I believe that his temper has improved through the years? The only difference is that he doesn't yell much anymore."

"JUST WHO-"

"WILL THE TWO OF YOU JUST KNOCK IT OFF!?" A voice roared over the shout.

The two Harrys turned in shock to the newcomer.

"S-Sirius?"

The older Harry released the teen and turned to lean against the wall with a hollow laugh. "So you heard everything, then. I didn't want you to know about this, dammit. I suppose you want me to tell you about how it happened."

"No."

Harry looked at his godfather in surprise.

"I don't want to know," Sirius repeated. "I already know from what you said that I went down fighting, and likely did it to protect you. That's all I need to know."

Stunned silence reigned for a full minute. "Damn." Slowly, Harry lifted one hand to cover his eyes. "Damn it all, this is why I didn't want this to happen." Tears streamed down both sides of his face despite his efforts to stop them.

"Mummy, is Daddy crying?"

"Shush, Lily. Let's go somewhere else and let Daddy talk to Sirius alone, okay?"

Soon, the area was deserted save Sirius and both Harrys.

"Harry," Sirius turned to his godson, "Could you leave us alone for a while?" When the teen looked as if he wanted to protest, he cut him off with a simple "Please."

Harry still looked unhappy at being excluded, but relented after a look at the man crumpled on the ground. He sighed and nodded.

Sirius smiled gently. "Thanks. I'll talk to you later."

After the teen had left, Sirius sat down next to the dark-haired man who was trying futilely to stop his tears. This was Harry, he reminded himself. Perhaps this Harry had been changed by years of experience, but he was still his godson nevertheless. He didn't say anything, simply allowing Harry to release the emotions had he had bottled up for the past few days, possibly for years before that even. Finally, when he felt that Harry had recovered sufficiently, he broke the silence.

"Harry, about this whole thing that has been going on… I have one question."

Looking up at Sirius' serious expression (no pun intended), Harry sighed. He knew that it couldn't possibly be so easy. He waited for the worst.

"Will you be staying for Christmas?"

Harry was completely taken off guard at the unexpected nature of the question. "Huh?"

"Christmas. I was hoping that you and your family could spend it with me. With all of us here."

For a long moment, Harry stared at Sirius wordlessly. Such a simple request, but it spoke volumes about how much Sirius cared for him. "We…" Harry swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. "We would love to."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Next chapter will be Christmas Special! Christmas at 12 Grimmauld Place, a united celebration between present and future! (Or past and present, whichever you prefer. Time travel is a confusing thing)<em>**

**_Look forward to it!_**

**_**_Hope you liked this chapter! Please leave a review! They really make my day._**_**


	14. Dear Santa

_**Merry Christmas to all!**_

_**(drumroll) And here is the Christmas Special as promised! On time too! It's Christmas morning where I am!**_

_**Honestly, I am completely stunned at this chapter. It is almost twice as long as my usual chapters, with a whopping 4,130 words (not including the author's note, mind!). This is my gift for all you readers this year, as thanks for your continuous support! I see several new readers as well, so to those of you who just arrived, welcome!**_

_**As I was writing this chapter, I faced a dilemma. I realized that with Arthur's presence this Christmas, this chapter has left canon-verse and is now hovering in a semi-AU setting during a Christmas that technically could not have happened in the original books. However, I decided to just carry on as the introduction of the whole Arthur and Nagini fiasco would make the mood of this arc unnecessarily depressing. I hope that you do not mind this decision of mine.**_

_**Now, with that said and done, we shall proceed to the story!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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><p>"It's Christmas! It's Christmas! It's Christmas!" Lily cheered as she bounded excitedly through the house. "Wake up!"<p>

"We know, Lily," Teddy said, looking amused. He had stuck his head out of his bedroom as she ran past, followed closely by her whooping brothers.

Around them, doors were being opened and their occupants likewise groggily looking out. Molly beamed. "It's so exciting to have young children in the house for Christmas again!"

The twins groaned. "It's five o'clock in the morning…"

"Teddy, would you be a dear?" Ginny asked tiredly from the doorway of her room. Behind her, Harry yawned as he headed towards the bathroom.

Teddy grinned. "On it, Ginny. Leave it to me." He dashed down the stairs two at a time, faintly hearing Ginny's relieved thanks from behind. He found the Potter children in the living room, practically bouncing around the Christmas tree.

"Those presents are to be opened later, kids," he reminded chidingly. As one, the trio turned towards him with a pout. Laughing, Teddy waved them over to the sofa and sat down. "What did Santa leave in your stockings this year?"

The children began to excitedly chatter about their presents that year, ranging from various kinds of candy to a tiny model broomstick set. Lily proudly showed off her new jewelry set, comprising of clip-on plastic earrings and a brightly-colored bead necklace. Teddy smiled at the children's enthusiasm.

"And a Weasley sweater," they finished in unison. "But that's from Granma, not Santa," James added. They proceeded to show Teddy their sweaters, pink for Lily, green for Al and red for James. With a grin, Teddy revealed his own, a dark blue one. Honestly, how did the Molly do it? She couldn't possibly have anticipated their arrival, yet still managed to complete at least four extra sweaters within five days.

"Breakfast!" Molly called from the kitchen. As one, the Potter children pulled their new sweaters over their heads and then ran out of the living room. Teddy tugged on his and headed after them.

Upon entering the kitchen, he was greeted by the sight of Molly sobbing.

The twins, entering behind Teddy, looked alarmed. "Mum, what's wrong?" When Molly gave no reply, they looked questioningly at Bill, who was sitting at the dining table. Interestingly, Bill appeared to be amused.

"It's not Percy, if that's you're thinking," he assured his younger siblings.

"Then what is it?" The twins sent a skeptical glance at Molly.

"Having grandchildren is so nice!" she finally managed to wail semi-coherently. The three Potter children stared at her in confusion, wearing the sweaters she had knitted for them and wondering why she wasn't giving them any breakfast yet.

The twins sighed, looking embarrassed at their mother's uncontrolled display of emotion. Bill laughed and returned his attention to his toast. Laughing as well, Harry took some bacon and eggs from the pan and joined Bill at the table.

Thankfully, by the time Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the kitchen, Molly had pretty much recovered. She dabbed the corner of her eyes with a dotted handkerchief as she continued to dish out the delicious-smelling food.

Remus entered the room. "Merry Christmas, everyone," he said with a smile and was greeted by a chorus of 'Merry Christmas' in reply from those in the room. He gratefully took the plate of breakfast given to him by Molly and took a seat next to Teddy. "Merry Christmas, Teddy."

Teddy's returning smile was blinding. "Merry Christmas, Dad."

"Is anyone else expected for breakfast?" Molly asked, cracking more eggs into the pan. As if in asking to her question, the door opened once again.

"Hohoho, Merry Christmas!" An old white-bearded man dressed in a red suit trimmed with white fur burst into the room. He carried an impressively large sack on his back.

"Santa!" shrieked Lily in delight, her eyes widened with glee.

Everyone else was similarly wide eyed, though not for the same reasons. Ron, among others, was straight out gaping.

"Merry Christmas, Professor. May I say you look very fine today?" Harry greeted with a smile.

Dumbledore chuckled merrily. "Thank you, my dear boy. You believe I do the costume justice?"

"Admirably, sir, judging by Lily's reaction."

The little girl in question latched herself onto Dumbledore's arm and was demanding presents.

James rolled his eyes. "That's not really Santa, Lily. It's Professor Dumbledore."

The other occupants of the room held their breath in anticipation of the eruption of a sibling squabble of epic proportions.

Lily looked over at her brother but didn't let go of the old man's arm. Her reply was remarkably calm. "Of course this isn't Santa. Santa always comes at night and it is morning already. But that doesn't mean Professor Dumbledore can't give presents anyway."

The entire room was silent, flabbergasted by her logic. Dumbledore broke the silence by chuckling. "You are perfectly, right, my dear. Here is your present."

"Thank you!" Lily said happily, accepting the small wrapped box.

Dumbledore began to go around the room handing out presents. When he reached Lily's father, his eyes twinkled. "Your daughter is a very intelligent child, Harry."

Harry's eyes danced as well. "She terrifies the whole family, Professor. I can't even imagine what she will be like when she grows up."

The door swung open again and Severus Snape stepped into the room. Silence reigned for the second time that morning as the occupants of the room took in his appearance.

"Are those presents!?" Fred managed incredulously.

Indeed, the usually sour-faced Potions Professor appeared to have two wrapped boxes tucked under an arm, one pink and one green.

"Sev!" Lily bounced over to her friend's side. "Merry Christmas, Sev!" He gave her a small smile, the type reserved only for her, and handed her the pink box. She received it happily.

The smaller green one was given to a surprised Al, who stammered out his thanks. Severus was then guided by Lily to an empty seat at the table and accepted Molly's offer of toast and bacon.

"Now _that_'s terrifying," George commented. The other Weasleys nodded fervently.

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><p>After breakfast, the group adjoined to the living room where the children proceeded to attack the presents sitting under the tree.<p>

"The presents aren't going to run away, you know," Teddy commented in amusement, approaching the three Potter children. His words were completely ignored. Chuckling, he went in search for his presents. He could hardly see anything beneath the mess of ribbons and discarded wrapping paper.

"They're over there," Lily told him helpfully, pointing to several boxes on her right, not looking up from the box she was opening. One moment later, she held a pretty doll in her arms and beamed up at Teddy.

Teddy grinned. He had gotten that doll from Diagon Alley a few days ago. "Like it?"

Lily nodded vigorously, rubbing her cheek against the doll's soft hair. "Thanks, Teddy."

Footsteps sounded and Harry entered the room. He took in the cheerful mess in the room and raised an eyebrow at Teddy. The teen just laughed and continued towards his presents.

"Daddy! Look at the dolly Teddy got for me!" Lily rushed up to her father, holding up her new doll proudly.

Harry scooped the little girl up into his arms. "She's really pretty. What are you going to name her, princess?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Dora," she decided. "'Cause she's pretty just like the Dora we know."

Reaching for his presents, Teddy froze. Harry smiled and ruffled Lily's hair tenderly. "That's a really nice name. Why don't you show her to Dora later?"

Lily nodded in agreement then squirmed to get down. Once Harry placed her back on the ground, she dashed towards the rest of her presents.

Teddy met Harry's gaze, misty eyed. "It's a good name," he agreed.

"Hohoho, Merry Christmas!" For the second time, Santa burst into the room. Everyone froze and stared.

"I'm afraid I have beaten you to the attempt, my dear girl," Dumbledore said with a chuckle.

Santa stared at Santa for a stunned moment.

"Dang." With a light pop, the beard and white hair vanished, leaving a heart-shaped face framed by bubblegum pink hair. Tonks left the room and returned soon dressed in a red blouse and jeans instead of the bulky Santa costume. She grinned at Dumbledore. "Looking good, Professor!"

"Thank you. I have been told that the outfit becomes me."

Tonks laughed. "That it does."

"Dora, Dora! Look at the doll Teddy got me! I'm naming her Dora because she looks like you," Lily said sweetly, running up to the pink-haired woman.

Tonks smiled and crouched down to admire the doll, rather touched at the gesture. "That's really nice, Lily. Thanks." She gave the little girl a light kiss on the cheek. Lily smiled broadly and ran back to her presents.

Straightening, Tonks went over to Teddy and hugged him warmly. "Merry Christmas, Teddy."

"Merry Christmas, Mum." Teddy returned the hug tightly. Upon releasing her, he took hold of her hand and tugged her in Remus' direction. "Come on, let's go to where Dad is sitting."

"Eh?" Tonks blushed, startled but allowed her son to pull her towards the couch.

"Oh-ho!" Dumbledore, inspecting the largely depleted pile of presents under the tree, had discovered a present addressed to him sitting innocently under the Christmas tree. Upon opening it, he lifted out a card nestled among what appeared to be several rolls of colorful fabric. He silently read the contents of the card with a teary smile.

'_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_Merry Christmas! Now you won't be able to say that you didn't receive any for Christmas again._

_Love, the Potters'_

Inside the box were five pairs of thick, wooly socks.

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><p>The Christmas dinner was magnificent. Molly's cooking was, as always, absolutely delicious, but the highlight of the feast was the Christmas crackers present beside every plate, courtesy of a certain pair of red-haired twins and a certain auburn-haired boy.<p>

Sirius hooted with laughter as his hat began an enthusiastic rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs". Remus sportingly put on a hat that was spitting mini fireworks in a most determined fashion. Lily's hat changed colors every few seconds, while Harry's cheerily sang "Deck the Halls". Soon the room was filled by overlapping songs and flashing colors.

When the mayhem finally died down, Fred, George and James stepped onto their chairs and took a bow. The children cheered, while Molly attempted to look disapproving but couldn't help but smile. It had been a rather marvelous piece of work.

A loud crack sounded, partially drowned out by the noise but still enough to attract the attention of several people in the room nearer to the source of the noise. Large green eyes gazed out at the cheery crowd in the kitchen and the newcomer broke into a wide smile.

"Dobby comes with Christmas cake from Hogwarts!" the house elf squeaked, presenting the prettily iced dessert to Molly.

Molly beamed. "Why, thank you, Dobby! Would you like to join us for dinner?"

Dobby shook his head, ears flapping. "Dobby must be getting back to Hogwarts, ma'am! There is much work to be done still!" The house elf made to apparate away, but was stayed by a voice calling his name.

"One moment, Dobby," Harry called, getting up from his seat. He crouched down in front of the tiny house elf and smiled. "It's nice to see you again."

"Dobby is most happy to see Harry Potter as well, sir!" the elf squeaked. He looked at Harry a little confusedly. "But Dobby must say that Harry Potter looks different than he has before."

Harry's lips twitched at the elf's bemused expression. "That is a long story, Dobby, one that I rather not bore you with. I called you for a different reason." He extracted a miniature gift from his pocket. With a light tap of his wand, it enlarged to medium sized box which he handed to Dobby. The house elf's eyes were huge as he unwrapped the present. "Merry Christmas, Dobby."

Inside, there were a pair of mismatched socks, a pair of differently-colored child-sized gloves and a striped scarf colored in all colors of the rainbow. Dobby promptly replaced his current wear with the new items. Put together, the ensemble admittedly looked rather odd. Dobby loved it.

Green eyes watered alarmingly. "Dobby – Dobby is most honored that Harry Potter prepared this gift for Dobby, sir!"

Harry patted the house elf's head awkwardly.

"Who's this, Daddy?" It was Lily, who had come over to peer in interest at Dobby.

Harry smiled and wrapped an arm around the girl to pull her closer. "This is Dobby, Lily. Dobby is one of Daddy's good friends." Dobby was incredibly touched at being called Harry's friend, as seen from the increase in the amount of moisture in his eyes.

Lily's mouth formed a soft o as she looked at Dobby again. She then took in Dobby's new clothes and frowned. The little girl tilted her head to one side as she solemnly considered the insane color coordination that was the house elf's outfit. "It's missing something," Lily suddenly declared.

Ducking nimbly under her father's arm to free herself, she shot out of the room, only to return soon with something pink and fluffy. Running up to Dobby, she added a new color to the colorful ensemble by the simple action of placing the pink hat on the house elf's head. She stepped back to observe her handiwork. "There! Now you look really nice!" she announced with a bright smile.

Dobby looked frankly overwhelmed, a reaction that Lily seemed to frequently evoke in people. He reached out a hand to tentatively touch his new hat. Long, thin fingers stroked the fluffy material reverently. Then Dobby burst into tears.

"Young miss is so kind!" he wailed happily. He then began blubbering praises about Lily, much to Harry's amusement.

The clock on the wall chimed, reminding Dobby of the time. With a start, he dried his tears with his scarf. "Dobby must be going now, sir!" With a final teary wave, the house elf disapparated.

When Harry sat back down, he noticed Hermione beaming at him. "That was so nice of you, Harry! Unlike a certain two that I know…" she shot an annoyed look at her two oblivious teenage friends.

Harry laughed. "Don't worry. Ron will mature in time as well. I assure you that he'll come to his senses in the end. He won't stay oblivious forever." He gave her a wink that told her that he wasn't just talking about house elves anymore. Hermione blushed furiously.

Focusing his attention back on the turkey, Harry grinned to himself. This was all rather fun, really.

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><p>"Now you see, my dear nephew, we are about to impart a fine piece of knowledge to you, one that will undoubtedly prove a valuable addition to your mischief-making experience when you go to Hogwarts," Fred said, an arm slung across James' shoulders. They were in the living room again, with Bill and Tonks setting up the music for the evening's party. Tonks had brought along a self-playing violin that she claimed to have bought from a music shop in Diagon Alley the day before. Bill had looked at the instrument skeptically but agreed to give it a try.<p>

"It's a most ingenious invention, made by a group of pranksters for the express purpose of causing great mayhem in the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. It fell into our hands in our first year, and was a great asset to us, I can tell you that. The Map will show you all the secret passages in Hogwarts, as well as where every single individual in the castle is presently at. Priceless information to know when one is up to some mischief, as you should know," George continued. Screechy violin music punctuated his words.

James' eyes were shining in anticipation.

"It's known as…" Fred paused for dramatic effect.

"The Marauder's Map," they finished together. The violin hit an exceptionally sour note. "Sorry," Tonks called to the room in general. The twins gave her a baleful look. Thankfully, their audience's enthusiasm wasn't deterred by the lousy background music.

"Can I see it?" James asked eagerly.

George sighed dramatically in regret. "Unfortunately, Jamie my boy, we gave it to someone who we felt needed it more two years ago, so we cannot show the actual artifact to you."

"However, we are telling you about it because we believe that you will have the means to retrieve it in that future of yours and put it to good use."

"You see…" The twins looked seriously at James. "The current holder of the map is your dear father."

"Dad!?" James was surprised.

"Yes, we gave it to Harry in our fifth year, seeing as the poor guy was stuck in the castle while his peers were off wandering Hogsmeade. It was our good deed, you see," Fred said while George nodded sagely. The violin continued its terrible screeching, much to the dismay of the pair attempting to make it work. Remus wandered over to help.

"But that is a thing of the past. We look to the future now, and in that future we see you!" George said with dramatic flourish. "Search your home thoroughly, and I daresay you will find it! The Map in its usual form looks just like a piece of old parchment, yellowed with age. But when you tap your wand to it and utter the magic words, the map will appear! Now listen closely, we're going to tell you how to activate it."

Fred took over. "All you have to do is say-"

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," a new voice contributed from behind them. The trio fell over in shock.

"S-Sirius!" Fred gasped out. "Don't scare us like that!"

"Wait, how did you know the password?" George asked, his eyes wide.

"Did you know the Marauders?" Fred recovered and asked eagerly. The twins knew that the Marauders had definitely attended Hogwarts at some point in the past to create such a detailed map of the castle. It would make sense, really, if the pranksters had belonged to Sirius' generation.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter at the question. "Did I know the Marauders?" he repeated with a grin. He turned. "Hey, Moony!" Sirius called across the room. "Did we know the Marauders?"

Catching the merriment dancing in his old friend's eyes, Remus laughed as well and played along. "I daresay we did, Padfoot! It would be troubling if we didn't! Who's asking?"

"The twins and old Prongs' grandson!" Sirius turned back to the gaping trio with a grin. "Does that answer your question?"

They nodded dumbly. In the background, the violin fell silent, before starting up in a merry rendition of "Jingle Bells" under Remus' directions.

Sirius ruffled James' hair. "Go find that map and turn Hogwarts upside down, kid. I bet it has been too quiet there for far too long." With another bark of laughter, he strode off.

Nearby, Minerva McGonagall shuddered and took a sip of punch to calm her nerves. "If I'm still alive then, I'll definitely retire before that boy grows old enough to attend Hogwarts."

The violin hummed its agreement.

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><p>The problem of music thus solved, the party began without further obstacles. The decorations had made the living room almost unrecognizable as the dark, damp room it usually was. Bright Christmas lights had been hung on the walls along with colorful banners, framing the lovely Christmas tree. A sprig of mistletoe zipped in a seemingly random fashion around the room, hovering sometimes in the same spot for several minutes before moving again. As everyone began to truly get in the mood to party, the violin gamely began to play "Rocking around the Christmas Tree", the jolly music bouncing off the walls.<p>

"Let's dance!" Tonks grabbed Teddy's hand and pulled him to the middle of the room.

The furniture originally in the room had been shrunk and stacked in a corner, leaving ample space for dancing to go on in full swing. Nearby, Fred and George were doing an impressively synchronized jig to much appreciation by their audience. Arthur extended a hand suavely to Molly as the couple also stepped onto the dance room. Across the room, Lily had snagged Remus as a partner and the duo were spinning in dizzy circles, their laughter echoing around the room.

Grinning, Teddy twirled Tonks in a way that would bring them closer to the madly spinning pair.

"They call that dancing?" Teddy commented with a laugh, gesturing at the pair.

Tonks laughed as well. "Anything goes, I suppose!"

After a while, Remus and Lily had to stop to recover, both being breathless with laughter. Taking advantage of that moment, Teddy caught Lily's eye. Lily winked. Teddy gave a subtle nod in return, and that was the signal that set their plan in motion.

"Teddy!" Lily jumped on Teddy, effectively abandoning her partner. "Dance with me!"

Teddy pretended to look at Lily reprovingly. "Lily, I'm dancing with Dora now."

Lily directed her puppy eyes at Tonks. "Can I dance with Teddy, Dora? Please?"

Tonks laughed and gave her consent. "Go on, the two of you," she said, fondly waving the two children off.

"You can dance with Remus, then, Dora!" Lily suggested cheerfully. "Otherwise he'll be lonely."

"Eh?" Tonks' eyes widened. She blushed slightly and sneaked a glance at Remus. The former Professor looked equally arrested at the idea.

Teddy and Lily shared a gleeful look. Perfect. Now for stage two. While Lily had been talking, Teddy had subtly extracted his wand from a pocket. A quick flick sent a certain item flying towards them.

"Teddy, Teddy!" Lily giggled and pointed above their heads. A small bunch of leaves hung innocently overhead, suspended in the air by magic. It appeared that the mistletoe had decided to drift overhead and stay stubbornly in place for a while. Teddy had nothing to do with it, of course. Absolutely nothing.

Teddy put a hand to his forehead dramatically. "Oh, you've got me, Lily! Mistletoe!" He picked the little girl up and planted a loud kiss on her cheek. "A kiss for you, then!"

This done, the duo twirled away, Lily still giggling madly.

Remus and Tonks, thus abandoned by their crafty son and his partner-in-crime, stared at each other awkwardly. The sprig of mistletoe continued to spin cheerfully in small circles above them, with no intention to go away. It still had a mission to complete.

"Kiss her, Moony!" Sirius yelled from the other side of the room.

The couple was now attracting a good deal of attention. Remus and Tonks exchanged shy looks, both blushing heavily. For a moment, it looked like nothing was going to happen. Then, something in Tonks' eyes changed.

"Oh, to heck with it!" Throwing all caution to the wind, Tonks daringly wrapped her arms around a stunned Remus' neck and kissed him full on the mouth amidst much cheering.

A short distance away, Teddy and Lily hi-fived.

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><p><em>Dear Santa,<em>

_My name is Teddy Lupin, and I'm six years old. I only have one request. I want to see Daddy and Mummy this Christmas. Harry says Daddy and Mummy are in the sky. Santa, you can fly, so can you pick them up on your sleigh?_

_Love, Teddy_

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><p><em>Dear Santa,<em>

_Did you see my letter last year? I think it got lost on the way, so I'm writing to you again. My name is Teddy Lupin. I'm seven years old. My wish is to celebrate Christmas with Daddy and Mummy. Just once is enough. I've been a good boy this year, so could you please give me what want?_

_Love, Teddy_

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><p><em>Dear Santa, <em>

_It's Teddy again, I'm eleven now. I'm writing this letter to you from Hogwarts this time, but my wish is still the same as the years before, so could you please grant it?_

_Love, Teddy_

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><p><em>Dear Santa,<em>

_Lily insists that Santa exists, so I'm writing another letter to you this year. It's been a long time, so you may not remember me, so I'll introduce myself again. My name is Teddy Lupin, sixteen years old. I really want to see my parents, so if you exist, Santa, could you please let me spend Christmas with them?_

_Love, Teddy_

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><p><em>Dear Santa,<em>

_Thank you._

_Love, Teddy_

Teddy sealed the letter and put it on the table by his bed. As he gently slipped into dreamland, he could have sworn that he heard the melodious jingle of sleigh bells, and a deep, kind voice saying, "Hohoho, Merry Christmas!"

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><p><em><strong>The ending was inspired by a video that I watched, called "Santa's Forgotten Letters". It's a lovely, sweetly touching video, and I do recommend that you watch it as well. Fanfiction . Net is a terrible pain when it comes to posting links, so if you want to see it, you can find it by searching on Youtube.<strong>_

_**I hope that you enjoyed the Christmas special! Please review!**_


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